Author's Note: I'm not sure how many of you have been following me from the start. If you have, you know my aliases have been Jack's Wife, TheJokersWoman, SookehIsMine, and LadySparks. I changed mine to what it is now because it's something my best friend and I love. Anyway, if you've been following me, you also know that I've had writer's block – TERRIBLE writer's block – for well over a year. I've finally gotten back into writing, thanks to a few classes and a few pushes from friends. I wrote a story three or four years ago, called "Jack Sparrow," and I loved it. And now I miss that. Looking over it, I realized there were a lot of errors in it. So, I decided to take it upon myself to edit and redo the entire thing, trying to make it the best possible. PLEASE read, review, and enjoy. Avast!

Chapter One

The Tempest

"EDWARD –" the woman screamed in pain. The man next to her, Edward, groaned. This wasn't at all what he was hoping for. He grabbed the small of her back and pushed his fingers, through her sari, to a pressure point. The woman relaxed and held her full womb. "The baby –"

"Shit," said Edward, his dreadlocks swinging fully. The baby was causing a lot of problems. Edward wasn't expecting a kid, but after all of the times that he and Sarita had gotten together, there was no reason for there not to be a baby in the picture. Not that he'd be able to check in on the little bugger. He'd have to leave the baby in Sarita's hands. "The twit's delivery will be normal. I assure you. He is, after all, my son."

"And mine," she said, coughing. "Please, don't call him a twit, he can hear you." Her eyes were still teary from the screaming and overreaction.

"Yeah… and I can talk to dolphins," Edward muttered. Best get her mind off of the baby."You know, you've learned English fast. I'm very proud of you."

"I did it for you, love," she said. Sarita clutched her sari tresses and petticoat and climbed aboard the ship, Edward holding her back. She finally reached the main deck and screamed in pain.

"Not again," said Edward, clutching his ears for dear life.

"My water has fallen."

"What?"

"Water is falling on my legs." It wasn't as though English was Sarita's first language, but immediately, Teague understood. Sarita was in labor.

A ratty looking Indian man in a turban seized this moment of Teague's temporary shock to jump into the scene. "Sir! Captain Teague, sir?" This was the first mate on the ship. He wasn't necessarily good at what he did – in fact, he was a seedy fellow who probably stole the rations more often than naught – but Teague held a promise to his father, and therefore the Indian man was his first mate.

Teague growled. "I'm kind of busy, as you were too thick-skulled to notice."

The Indian man coughed to a slight, then he spoke in a puny voice. "I was – that is to say, we were wondering if there was another place to keep the woman. It's bad luck to have one on board, sir, we could get –"

"Do I look like I give a damn? If you're so superstitious, you might as well jump off the gangplanks, which I hear isn't a very easy thing to do. No pirates I know've done it. And if your dive doesn't look good enough to me, I'll bring you back up and make you do it until you've got it perfectly. Then the sharks can eat you." Sarita moaned.

"Yessir," said the Indian, scowling at the woman. "Stupid wench…"

"Leech," said Teague to the Indian, "don't push it."

"I am not. Is there anything else you would like for me to do?"

"Yes, I –"

"Cap'n!" said another man. He was short, somewhat bald, and his nose was rounded.

"Dennivers," said Teague. "Thank you for coming, my dear man."

"O' course, I owe you one. 'Cept I'm sure that if I didn't come, well, I finks to myself, I do, that you'll hurt me."

"Well, of course." Teague cursed under his breath. Everyone on this boat was either too panicked or too idiotic to take care of this situation whatsoever.

"So you see why I have called you on my ship?" Teague motioned to Sarita, who had begun to vomit on deck. "Someone wipe that."

"GERRY! WIPE THAT!" Leech pointed with one dirty fingernail at the green, bubbling froth on the floor. Blood began to come out with it.

"That's terrible. Y'know, when Leech met up with me, I says to him, I says, 'I can fix any sorta problem that a Doctor'd need to fix,' and here I am, ready to fix."

"Then fix," said Teague. He dropped his voice very low. "Look, she may be a whore, but she means more to me, I think. She's… I mean, my son… it is a son, isn't it?"

"Has to be, has you looked at 'er tums?" Dennivers looked at it. "I understand, Cap'n, and as long as I have her in my care I'll make sure no one takes advantage."

"Good man."

The ship was hardly out to sea when Leech began to yell. "CAPTAIN TEAGUE, SIR! THE MAIN RIGGING, IT'S FALLEN OFF!"

"Shit," Teague swore again. "Shit!" They weren't too far from shore… "TURN THE BLOODY THING AROUND! AROUND! BACK TO SHORE. HARD TO STARBOARD!" A sharp swing would do it, and no one would get hurt.

Sarita screamed again. She was still on the deck. "DENNIVERS!"

"OH MY GOD, IT'S… THE BABY THING… 'ES COMIN' OUT! I SEE A HEAD! AW, JESUS, CAN' YOU PEOPLE BE A LI'L MORE GENTLER? FUCKIN' HELL."

Teague wheeled around and scampered over to Sarita. "C'mon, dear, c'mon, push. We've gotta go fast, Missy, there's a storm…"

Sarita screamed. "He's stuck!" She screamed, moaning as she attempted to push the baby out. The ship swerved, tossed, and water splashed on deck. The waves roared past as those trying to push it back in a regular direction were running around on deck.

"IT'S A TYPHOON! WE'RE GONNA DIE!"

"Shut up, you feckless ingrate!" yelled Teague. "If we make it through this, then I'm demoting you from First Mate to regular crewmember."

Sarita screamed again. "C'mon, Miss, c'mon," Dennivers was muttering, and then… the baby was out. "Quick, take the baby!" Dennivers shoved the blood-covered thing into Teague's hands. Teague shuddered. Babies… covered in blood… weren't his favorite things in the world. But the baby's face, it looked just like him. "'Ello, Jackie."

He sat in the crews quarters, trying his best to keep the baby from getting its neck broken… and now, he reckoned it looked pretty cute. Teague shook his head. The hell was happening to him? Nothing was cute. When the storm was finally over, he walked back outside and stood by the helm. Dennivers approached him.

"Is she all right?"

"Yes, I've got 'er stitched up. Bloody mess. I says to 'er –"

"I don't care," said Teague. "Get her to the private quarters."

Dennivers, with the assistance of two other crewmembers, took Sarita in.

The storm began to clear. "Well, that's convenient." Teague looked up in the sky. The sun was setting – and a single bird flew across, silhouetted by the light. Teague looked back down at the slime-covered baby. "Interesting, innit, Jackie?" He pondered for another moment, and began wiping the slime off the baby with a rag. "Jackie… Jack Sparrow."