Warnings: I don’t think there’s really anything, maybe shitty family members? If there’s anything that needs a warning, please let me know.
Request: “Reader could be a rebel, and Baker doesn’t know it, but they eventually tell him and he’s like “it’s okay, I still love you no matter your political beliefs :)” bc he’s so swEET”
A/N: I’m not really sure how I managed to ramble on for over 4.5k words about a character who only appeared in one season, but here you go 🙈😆 I hope you guys enjoy this.
Tags: @im-way-too-many-fandoms @beautifulfound
Your life had been fairly quiet, well until recently. You had been born and raised in the sleepy village of Setauket, by the Long Island sound. With the recent outbreak of war, your life seemed to change overnight. Your family did their best to stay neutral and hope that all the fighting would be over sooner rather than later.
“Keep your head down and stay out of trouble,” was your father’s only comment on the day you and your brothers watched the soldiers billeted in your home walking towards the house.
You tried your best to side with your father’s view on the war. You tried staying out of it and hope for the best, but as you watched your neighbors and friends property seized and the British soldiers being quartered in nearly everyone’s home, you knew sitting on the fence wasn’t right. You tried convincing your father and brothers to take a stand and fight back, but it seemed you were the only one in your family willing to choose a side. Seeing your friends and neighbors suffer at the hands of the British, only seemed to solidify your family’s decision to remain neutral.
“This is why father is unable to find you a husband, you’re too outspoken. Keep running your mouth like this and you’re going to end up an old spinster.” John, your oldest brother, responded as he dragged you out of the drawing room and away from the escalating argument with your father and younger brother, James.
“I am not a puppet put on the Earth purely for a man’s entertainment. I am my own person and I am entitled to my own thoughts and opinions. If a man cannot handle that, then he does not deserve the privilege to call himself my husband.” You shook your head in disbelief; he knew you hated it when they would use your lack of a suitor against you. “John, you cannot possibly think it is right for these men to come into our home, and into our town and take it over. For heaven’s sake John, our church has been turned into a stable. Where do we draw the line? We must take a stand against them.” You pleaded with him.
“Please, just do as father says.” He pleaded with you. “Keep your head down and stay out of trouble. The sooner you and all the other rebels learn that, the sooner this war will be over and life can go back to normal.” His voice softened as he held you by the shoulders before pulling you in for a hug, an attempt to end the argument and soothe you. “Just promise me that you’ll try to stay out of trouble.”
“I’ll try, I promise.” You whispered into his chest. You knew that John wasn’t trying to be cruel with his spinster comment, out of all your brothers, he always did his best to look out for you and just wanted what was best for you, probably more so than your father.
After voicing your opinion on the conflict, things at home were far from pleasant. You found any reason to be out of the house and away from your father and brothers; you ran every conceivable errand that you could think of for your mother. When errands weren’t enough to keep you out of the house and away from the billeted soldiers, you picked up a new habit of hiding out near the water in town with a book and to ignore the world around you, at least for a few hours.
To get to your hidden little sanctuary near the water, you were forced to walk by the docks and close to the soldiers. You tried to keep your promise to your brother, whenever you passed by the soldiers, you kept your head down and did your best not to make a snide comment and resisted the urge to throw a rock at them. Of course there would always be a soldier or two that seemed to take great enjoyment at testing your patience, they would whistle at you trying to get your attention. Each time you opened to your mouth to put those men in their place, you would hear your brother’s voice filling your head to talk you out of it. You played the role of a good daughter and did as you were told, kept your head down and out of trouble.
Today they tried something new, several soldiers decided to try shoving a young soldier into you as you passed by. You stared at the man standing in front of you, you vaguely recognized as one who always waved hello to you whenever you passed the docks. You felt a slight pang of pity as he opened his mouth to speak to you, but instead quickly changed his mind and scampered back to his post, leaving to stand there confused and even more annoyed.
You continued to walk down to the shore, towards a little wooded cove near the water that was hidden from the view of the sentry posts. Once you reached your spot, you laid out on a small blanket and pulled out the book you stole from John’s collection from your bag. Between getting lost in the pages in front of you and the calming sounds of the nearby water you soon felt your eyelids getting heavy. You tried your best to stay awake, but it just felt like the universe sent you the perfect conditions for an outdoor nap, just enough sunlight to keep you warm, a slight breeze so you didn’t get too warm. You knew you should’ve probably just thrown in the towel and headed home, but you weren’t looking forward to another tense encounter with your family. You tried your best to stay awake, but soon enough you fell asleep with your head rested beside your book.
You were jolted awake as you felt someone attempting to pick you up off the ground. You started to fight against the persons hold on you, causing the person to drop you on the ground tangled in your blanket. You looked up to see a handsome young British soldier standing above you. “I am a very poor target for a robbery, I have no money and nothing of value on me. ” you said as you scooted away from the man, not knowing what this man’s intentions were.
“I am truly sorry, miss. I didn’t mean to frighten you. It’s just that…” The soldier replied as he slowly backed away from you.
“Well, you have an odd way of going about not trying to frighten a woman.” You snapped, interrupting the young man while you felt around the ground for anything on the ground that you might use to defend yourself. You looked up at the man standing in front you, recognizing him as the soldier who ran into you earlier that day.
“I truly mean you no harm, miss. I swear on my honor, I am just trying to help you.” He held his hands up, taking a step back away from you. You hesitated for a moment, not knowing if you could truly trust this stranger, but there was a part of you figured that if this man did something to you, maybe it would be enough to push your father and brothers into action. He slowly stepped forward and offered his hand to you, you cautiously put your hand in his and he pulled you up off the ground.
“I just notice that you always walk past my post, at the dock, each day on your way home right before the end of my watch. But I didn’t see you, so I waited. As you can see, it’s almost night and I became worried, I wanted to make sure that you were safe but instead I found you sleeping. I didn’t want to wake you, I just thought I could carry you home without waking you.” He explained while he helped you gather your belongings off the ground.
“You came upon a sleeping woman and your first thought was to pick her up and carry her off?” You asked while you pulled leaves out of your hair and off your gown, still feeling uneasy about being in this man’s presence.
“No, not at all. My first thought was that you were hurt, but then I heard you snore…loudly.” He sheepishly admitted as he handed you your brother’s book. “I just wanted to make sure you made it home safely.”
“I take offense, sir. I do not snore.” An immediate sense of embarrassment washed over you, this attractive man had found you snoring, you wished there was a rock you could crawl under. This wasn’t exactly the ideal way to make a first impression on someone, even if they happened to be a British soldier.
“Then there is a creature nearby that sounded an awful like someone snoring.” He smiled, there was something about his smile that made you feel more at comfortable being in his presence. “I should escort you home before we anger it and it attacks us.” The young man picked up the blanket, shook off the dirt and leaves before folding it and draping it over his arm.
The two of you walked side by side in silence, you really didn’t feel like socializing with a soldier but you could feel the nervous energy radiating off the man walking beside you.
“So, may I know the name of the soldier who bravely saved me from a mysterious creature?” You asked him, trying to be as friendly as you could manage.
“Ensign Baker, miss. But if you’d like, you can call me Thomas.”
“Very well, Thomas. May I ask why you were waiting for me?”
Thomas sighed before he answered, “This is may sound inappropriate, but seeing you walk past my post each day has become something I look forward to.”
You stopped walking and stared at him with a confused look on your face, hearing that you were admired in any fashion by a man was a foreign concept to you, your father and James told you, practically on a daily basis that no man would want a woman like you unless you learned how to control your tongue and acted like a lady. “Me? But why?” You asked him.
He stops and turns around to face you, “I cannot properly explain it, there’s just something about you that I feel drawn to, you’re not like the other ladies in town. The other men say it’s because of your fiery nature, it makes you stand out. As I’ve said that is what the other soldiers say, I think it’s far more than that…”
You stared at him while he continued to ramble on, studying his features in the fading sunlight, looking for any sign that he was lying to you. You could have stood there all night trying to figure out whether or not he was being honest with you, but as the sun began to disappear beyond the horizon you could feel yourself starting to shiver.
“Where are my manners, you must be cold.” He pulls the blanket from his arm while he stepped behind you, wrapping the blanket around your shoulders. “I should get you home before you family begins to worry.”
“I doubt they mind that I am not home yet.” You mumble, you see Thomas glance at you out of the corner of your eye.
“Then I shall feel better knowing that you are safe at home and not in the woods at the mercy of some mysterious beast.” He smiled as he offered his arm to you, even with the all kindness Thomas had shown you, you couldn’t help but still feel a tiny bit of bitterness towards the man standing in front you dressed in a British military uniform. You reluctantly took his arm as the two of you once again started walking.
After a few minutes of walking in relative silence, you finally reach your house. From the edge of your family’s small property, you can make out the figures of what was more than likely was your father and brothers pacing the enclosed area of the large porch. You let go of Thomas’ arm and began to quicken your pace, knowing that you were probably in more trouble than you could possibly imagine.
“[Y/N]! You hear your father yell as the figures on the porch all stopped pacing and faced towards you and Thomas. You unconsciously tighten your grip on Thomas’ arm, knowing that as soon as you were in the privacy of your home there was going to be another argument.
You took a deep breath before stepping into the soft light of the lanterns, “I think it might be best if you left, Ensign Baker. I doubt this is going to be a pleasant interaction with my father.” You softly said to Thomas as you pulled your arm away from him before your family had the chance to see.
“Are you sure? Perhaps I can help explain to him why you’re home so late.”
“I am, and I truly appreciate your kindness today, but I fear your presence may only make the situation worse.” You softly smiled at Thomas before your father stormed up to you, aggressively grabbing your arm.
“[Y/N], you have had us worried sick,” You father, trying to hide his anger, turned towards Thomas, “I apologize for whatever trouble my daughter has caused you, sir.”
“There was no trouble, sir. Your daughter is a fine young lady, I was just making sure she made it home safely.” Thomas turned to you, with a slight smile on his face “It was an honor meeting you, Miss [Y/N]. I hope you and your family enjoy the rest of your evening.” Thomas barely turns around to walk away before your father pulls you up the steps of the porch.
“This is not what I meant when I told you to stay out of trouble. Being brought home by a soldier, what were you thinking? You know how those men talk, do you want a reputation as the town harlot? I don’t know why your mother and I even bother with you.” You father growled at you while dragging you into the house. “Thankfully our guests are not here to witness to your shame.”
“It’s not like that, nothing inappropriate happened. All Ensign Baker is guilty of is being a gentleman and walking me home. Why must you always think the worst of me?” You pulled your arm out of your father’s grasp.
As you predicted, as soon as the front doors closed the argument started and you were on your own with no allies. You tried your best to defend yourself against the onslaught of hurtful accusations thrown at you by everyone in your family, but there was no use. There were only so many different ways your family could describe you as a whore before you just mentally threw in the towel.
You sat in one of the armchairs near the fire and stared blankly at the clock in the corner of the den while the angry voices around you became nothing more than white noise, strangely enough the only thing you could think about was Thomas. How kind he was to you, especially during the moments where you were less than friendly. There was something about the way he smiled at you and how it made you feel at ease. You tried to reason with yourself, you couldn’t have feelings for him, it just wasn’t possible for multiple reasons. You just needed to stop being so ridiculous, you felt too old to have a crush on a man you barely knew and it wasn’t like it could ever lead anywhere, he was a British soldier for god’s sake, you knew he would probably leave as soon as the war was over, regardless of who won.
Your father made the terms of what you considered to be your house arrest, you were no longer allowed to leave the house without him or one of your brothers to escort you. “You’re lucky that I am allowing you the privilege of leaving the house.” Your father called after you while you made your way towards your bedroom. That night you fell asleep dreaming of the different ways to escape your house, you were surprised that one or two of them even involved Thomas.
Your brother James seemed to have drawn the short straw and became your official escort on your errand runs. At first he kept you on a short leash, he barely let you speak to anyone and tried to get the trip over and done with as quickly as possible. But as the weeks passed, he seemed to calm down and let you wander around on town on your own. It was during one of these rare moments on your own when you finally saw Thomas again. You had wandered down to the docks, secretly hoping to see him again. You couldn’t hide your smile as you caught his eye, you felt your heart beat a little bit faster while you watched as he smiled and waved at you from his post.
All you wanted in that moment was to talk to him, to apologize for your behavior when you first met and for ignoring him since then. As you started to make your way towards the dock, James pulled you away, angrily mumbling under his breath about you and telling your father. That night you wrote Thomas a letter, explaining everything that happened after he left your house that night and the terms of you and John had jokingly called your house arrest. The next trip into town, you bribed [TK] into delivering the letter for you, you watched as [TK] approached Thomas, pointing over back towards you before handing the letter over and Thomas looking over to you before shoving the letter into his pocket.
You had been lost in your thoughts was you wandered around waiting for James to finish doing whatever it was he did during these trips into town, when a small girl came up to you and tugged on your skirts. You smiled at the small girl, thinking she must have mistaken you for her mother when she held up a letter. You crouched down and traded the letter for some bread from your basket, shoving the letter into your pocket while you watched the little girl run off.
“What was that about?” James surprised you looking over your shoulder, he smelled like he had been rolling around the floor in Strong Tavern.
“Why do you smell like that? You had better hope it goes away before we get home, oh it’s horrid. Ugh.” You quickly changed the subject, covering your nose before walking away from him.
Soon every time you were in town, you and Thomas were exchanging letters. To be honest, they were usually just brief notes, greeting each other and wishing one another a good day. Simple notes that were usually scribbled on small scraps of parchment with little importance, but they still made you smile each time you received one. You weren’t exactly sure why, but you felt the need to keep all of his notes to you, you treated each one like . Sometimes at night before you went to sleep, you would pull them out of their hiding place and read them again, smiling at words he had written to you.
After a couple of months of constant supervision, your father finally cracked and decided that you were once again able to be trusted enough to leave the house on your own. The first day of freedom you had was spent waiting for the end of Thomas’ post, you had purposely went into town later in the day to wait for the end of his shift. The two of you spent hours just sitting together on the dock
Slowly over time you and Thomas developed what you each considered nothing more than friendship, but it was clear to anyone who saw the two of you together that what you had was far more than a simple friendship, but between the shyness you each felt around one another and the fact you weren’t ready to admit that you had feelings for a soldier. But since the day Thomas escorted you home, you couldn’t stop thinking about him. Although you were on opposing sides of the war, he still made you feel like someone truly understood you for the first the time. He seemed to make your world feel a little bit brighter, you weren’t ready to ruin the one good thing you had in your life by telling him you supported America’s fight for independence. Instead, you decided to just enjoy spending time with him and letting providence take care of the rest.
Not wanting to deal with any further drama with your family, you convinced Thomas to spend time with you without a chaperone and away from your house. But the memory of his first encounter with your father still fresh in his mind, you had also filled him in on argument that occurred after he left you when he finally, albeit reluctantly agreed.
“Are you sure this is okay?” You walked passed Thomas into the Woodhull’s house. You knew Abraham and Mary, you would occasionally spend time with Mary in a sewing circle with the other young women around your age, but you were never exactly close. Being in their home without them home was slightly uncomfortable, lord knows what they would have to say if they found that you were alone in their house with Thomas.
“Mr. and Mrs. Woodhull have been staying with the Judge, we have the house to ourselves, for now at least. Plus, there are no neighbors to worry about spreading gossip. It’s just us.” Thomas stood in front of you, taking your hands in his. “And since we’re alone, I wanted to discuss something with you.” He pulled you over to a chair in front of the fireplace, he let go of your hands so he could pull up a chair directly in front of you.
“Have I done something to upset you?” You nervously asked, watching him for any sign of what he could possibly want to talk about.
“No, of course not, [Y/N]. I hope that you will think of this as good news, because I think it will be good for us. I hope you do not think I’m being too forward by saying so.” He nervously rambled.
“I suppose that depends on the topic that you wish to discuss.” You gave him a small smile and reached over to him, holding his hand hoping that it would help with the nervousness that you were both feeling.
He cleared his throat, “[Y/N], we have been friends for awhile now, and in that time I find myself feeling something…more than just friendship for you. Something that I was never sure that I would ever have in my life.” He paused for a few moments, he held onto your hand while he looked away and gathered his thoughts. “I’ve told you about up how I grew up and…the circumstances of my birth.”
“You should never feel ashamed of your childhood. You are more than just that boy from the orphanage, Thomas. You deserve all the happiness the world has to offer.” You kissed his hand, he smiled at how kind and understanding you could be. You never judged him based on his childhood or for his parents or lack thereof. He wished there were more people in the world like you.
“I’m truly glad you think so, it makes what I am about to say easier.” He took a deep breath “[Y/N], I am in love with you, there is nothing I want more in this life than to marry you and to make you happy for the rest of our days together.”
“Thomas, please. You cannot possibly mean that.” You started to cry as a mix of sad and happy tears fell down your cheek. You let go of his hand to wipe away the tears. “You shouldn’t say such things, it puts me in a very unfortunate situation, it’s terribly cruel.”
“Are you saying that you don’t feel the same?” Thomas softly lifted your chin, looking into your eyes. He wiped away a stray tear away with his thumb, you nuzzled your head onto his hand before he pulled it away.
“Of course, I feel the same. I wouldn’t risk everything for just anyone.” You caressed his cheek, “You haunt my every waking moment, I can hardly think of anything else besides you and when I’ll be able to see you again.” You weren’t ready for him to confess his feelings for you or for you to then have to ruin everything by telling him your political beliefs. “Please believe me when I tell you that I absolutely feel the same.”
“Is it because I have nothing to offer you? Or what your parents will think? I know I don’t have…” You felt like you could hear his heart breaking in his voice when he spoke, he pulled your hand away from his face and held it.
“Absolutely not and don’t you ever think that, we could live in a tiny shack in the middle of the wilderness for all I care. As long as you’re by my side, nothing else matters. As for my parents, I don’t care what they or anyone else thinks, I am a grown woman capable of making my own decisions.”
“Then what is it, [Y/N]? Because I don’t understand. If we both love each other, why does it feel like you’re trying to push me away?”
“Because…” You wrapped your arms around yourself, trying to comfort yourself before you confessed everything. “I love everything about you, except the uniform you wear everyday. I hate what it represents and I hate seeing you in it.” You started to wring your hands, “to put it simply, I don’t support the Crown. I believe that we should have our independence. If I were able to fight, I would’ve already joined the Continental army. I’ve even entertained the idea of dressing as a man to join.”
“Is that all? You don’t like that I’m a soldier?” He asked, smiling at you.
“I don’t mind you being a soldier, I mean of course I am scared of what could happen to you in battle, but I understand why you joined the army. I just hate that it was the British army you joined.”
“Regardless of your feelings for England [Y/N], you must admit that if it weren’t for this uniform I wouldn’t be here in the colonies and we never would have met.” He paused for a moment while he slipped out of his chair and knelt in front of you, taking your hands in his. “We wouldn’t have each other and right now you are more important to me than whatever side wins this conflict.”
Thomas stands up, still holding your hands he helps to stand you up. “As long you’re by my side, nothing else matters.” He pulls your body close to his, cradling you in his arms and pressing his soft lips against yours.
After the kiss, you rested your head on his chest. “I’ll always be by your side. Always.”
