Song of the Sparrows
Disclaimer: I don't own PotC, sadly.
A/N: This story has a few time skips, just a heads up. But enjoy! Please read and review! : Contains Sparrabeth!
Song of the Sparrows
"Stop crying! Please, be quiet already! Bloody hell! Can I get two minutes of silence around 'ere? I don't know what t' do anymore, I've tried everything!" Jack shouted, pacing back and forth in his cabin. The room was dim due to only one lantern being lit and the sun was now sinking over the horizon, giving everyone a peaceful sort of feeling…besides him, anyway. The only thing that was different in Jack's quarters was that there was a small crib on the side of his bed, a crib for their baby. "I gave ye yer toy, tried to feed you, rocked ye so that you'd fall asleep, gave ye a bath, took you out on deck, played with you…" Jack said in frustration, holding the baby up in front of his face. "Ye still haven't shut up!" He said desperately. "What do ye want from me?" He asked breathlessly, eyes narrowed and chest heaving.
The baby stared at him, her bottom lip quivering and her eyes were wide with tears building up in them. She looked about to cry again.
A sudden knock came at the door and with a sigh, Jack cradled his daughter against his chest in one arm while walking towards the door. He twisted the knob and turned it before swinging the door open and grimacing at seeing Elizabeth leaning in the door way with a smug look on her face. "Lizzie," Jack said firmly, standing to block the entrance to their cabin, "This is supposed t' be yer day off, I have things under control." He protested, narrowing his eyes and then turning away.
Elizabeth sighed, walking towards him. "Really? Because the crew is complaining about the headaches they have from her being so loud." She giggled, pulling the baby from his arms and into her own. "Jacqueline Rose, are you giving your father a hard time?" She smirked, ticking her stomach, causing Jacqueline to giggle and squeal.
"I don't know how t' get her quiet." Jack mumbled, looking down at the floor, almost ashamed. He should know how to get her to calm down, shouldn't he? He was her father!
Elizabeth held back a laugh at how upset he seemed that he couldn't calm her down. "Well Jack, did you know her first teeth are coming in?" She asked, bouncing the baby up and down in her arms while disappearing for a moment to get a cold, wet cloth. "Just give her one of these to chew on if she starts to get cranky, it'll help with the pain." She said, handing the cloth to Jacqueline who immediately put it into her mouth and began to chew on it. She leaned over and kissed Jack very briefly, "You're doing a wonderful job." She smiled, rubbing her nose against his. Never once did they think that they'd be out living their own children, becoming immortal at the Fountain was something that they had forgotten about after having their daughter. Nothing could kill them, they were untouchable. But when one of their children died, Elizabeth wouldn't take it well at all and neither would Jack.
Jack sighed when she leaned forwards and rubbed her nose against his, causing the tiniest of smiles to form on his lips but it didn't stay long. "No, I didn't know her first teeth were comin' in." He said, folding his arms over his chest and watching her hold Jacqueline. They had named her after himself, he was flattered Elizabeth wanted to do so, even though he had wanted to name it after her instead. But it seemed whenever he tried to hold her she'd begin to scream and cry until his wife took her away from him. Jack was beginning to think that she was afraid of him…maybe it was all the trinkets in his hair? Or the kohl he wore under his eyes? He didn't know, but it was embarrassing when your own daughter didn't want to be held by you. "Liz, I don't think she likes me." Jack grumbled, walking towards the wall and leaning back against it. "She's afraid of me."
Elizabeth sighed, giving Jack a doubtful look. "That's silly." She said, rolling her eyes. "Of course she likes you, you're her father." She said, smiling down at the child in her arms who was still chewing on the wet cloth to soothe the pain. "Here." She said, walking towards her husband and holding Jacqueline out to him. "Take her, I'm going to go help the crew." She said, watching in amusement as Jack stepped forward and hesitantly held out his arms. Elizabeth giggled and handed her to him, then took a step back to watch. "You know if she starts to cry again, just sing to her." She said, reaching over to their desk and picking up her coat before sliding it on.
"Sing? What am I supposed to bloody sing?" Jack scoffed, narrowing his eyes.
"Our song." Elizabeth said simply, sliding her hands into her pockets. "The one I taught you and we sang together on that island. Remember?" She smiled, then reached up to kiss his lips. "She likes it." She whispered, then slid past him and headed out the door.
Jack gave a unsure look to the baby as he walked towards the bed and sat down, holding her against his chest. When the door shut she dropped the cloth and looked around, probably for Elizabeth. He groaned, starting to get frustrated. What was so bad about him anyway? Why was she so attached to Elizabeth? He grumbled under his breath for a moment but realized she was starting to squirm around, preparing to cry. Jack grimaced, brushing his thumb across her cheek and very softly, not wanting anyone else to hear him, he began to sing to her. Immediately the baby turned and looked at him, blinking her wide brown eyes and smiling. She did like the song, that was a huge relief to Jack. He was beginning to think that his own daughter wanted nothing to do with him.
Eight months later
Soft giggles came from Elizabeth's lips while Jack gripped her waist and was backing her up towards their cabin, pressing kisses to her neck and jaw. Once they got through the door and began to move towards the bed, Elizabeth remembered Jacqueline. She had fallen asleep on the floor while playing with her toys, so Jack had put a pillow under her head and dropped a blanket over her. She was getting ready to turn one in a week or so. "Shh, Jack the baby is asleep." Elizabeth laughed quietly, biting her lip.
Jack gave a playful growl, lifting his wife up into his arms and then dropping her onto the bed. "We'll just have t' be quiet then, won't we?" He smirked, starting to unbutton her shirt. It had been so long since they slept together, he could barely remember it. This baby sure did take up a lot of their time. His eyes widened after her shirt was off of her and Jack leaned up to tug his own off and tossed it to the floor, however he hadn't realized it landed on the baby.
Jacqueline began to hear noises and her eyes slowly opened. She put her hands on the floor and pushed herself up so that she was sitting up. She looked around out of curiosity and saw what she could recognize as her father on the bed.
Jack kissed his way down Elizabeth's neck to her collar bone where he nipped at her skin, causing her to yelp and whimper in between laughs. "Oh, Jack stop! She's going to hear us!" She said breathlessly, wrapping her arms around him and arching up against him. He stifled a laugh himself and started to work on the ties to her breeches, however they both froze at a cooing noise.
Elizabeth and Jack turned to look over at the side of the bed, where Jacqueline was standing and smiling while patting her hands on the blanket, indicating she wanted up on the bed as well. She hadn't walked over there though, she only knew how to crawl and could stand up if she had something to hold onto. Jack sighed, then sat up and watched in amusement as Elizabeth pulled the blanket over herself to cover up. "It's not like she hasn't seen you before, how else did ye feed her?" Jack teased, luckily their breeches were still on. He reached over to the side of the bed and grabbed their daughter, then lifted her up to sit her down on the bed.
During the past eight months, Jacqueline had grown a lot. Her hair was thicker and a shade of brown, so they knew she had Elizabeth's hair. Her dark eyes and irresistible smile clearly belonged to her father, however. In fact, she followed her father around most of the time. When he was in his cabin sitting at his desk and working on something, she'd be playing around his chair with the small toy boat she had. Usually she'd throw it and then point to it while making a small noise which told Jack she wanted him to go get it.
Elizabeth narrowed her eyes, "Exactly my point, if she sees me she might get hungry and then she won't want a bottle." She pouted, smirking a little. She turned so her back was facing them and pulled on her shirt, turning to look at them after becoming fully dressed once again. Jack was still shirtless…but she didn't mind, he was something to look at.
Jack scooped her up into his arms and then motioned for Elizabeth to follow him, "We're goin' t' play a game." He said, sitting Jacqueline down on the floor. She turned and watched curiously as Elizabeth sat down across from Jack, a few feet apart. Elizabeth nodded and patted her legs, smirking when her daughter crawled towards her. She helped her stand up and was holding onto her tiny hands as she turned her around and pointed to Jack, "Go to daddy." She said, watching closely.
The baby took one step and then fell to land on her rear end, eyes wide with shock and surprise. Jack reached forward and grabbed her by her feet, gently pulling her towards him and grinning while she squealed and laughed. He picked her up and turned her towards Elizabeth who was holding her arms out. He gave her a small nudge and watched as she took a about two or three steps before falling that time. It didn't look like she'd be walking yet. However Elizabeth was determined to try one more time, but Jack had reached over and grabbed a bottle of rum to get a drink, having given up for the day.
So after Jacqueline stood up and looked at her father, she saw the rum in his hands and grew curious of what it was. Elizabeth gave her a small nudge and the baby took a few wobbly steps forward, they both expected her to fall but she started to walk towards Jack again! He nearly spit out the rum before setting the bottle down and holding his arms out as she fell against his chest, cooing and trying to talk once again, but forming no real words yet.
They were shocked beyond belief! Seeing her walk brought tears to Elizabeth's eyes while her hand was covering her mouth. Jack simply blinked and stared down at Jacqueline as she patted her hands against his bare chest, staring up at him and tilting her head to the side. That was something he'd never forget, seeing her walk to him made his eyes grow soft. He then realized just how precious her life was, and he'd make sure nothing ever harmed her, she was a Sparrow after all.