Disclaimer: I do not ownPirates of the Caribbean. Pirates of the Caribbean, its story and characters, is owned by Walt Disney Pictures.

Warning: A bit of OOC in this chapter on Jack's side.

Chapter 8

By his sixth month, Will had finally gotten used to being pregnant and all that it entailed. Including being the center of attention among the ship's crew. Being stuck on board a ship gave little means of entertainment, and usually when the crew became bored, they would either get drunk, and even that got old after awhile, or simply gawk at Will, something that never got old.

The whole crew was constantly putting their hands on Will's belly to feel the baby move inside of him. At first, Will would simply blush and nod shyly when asked, now it was as if they didn't even need to ask. His shipmates would simply come up to him and feel his tummy with out even recognizing that it was a part of him. Of course, it didn't help that Jack was now acting the part of the proud father to be. Constantly putting his arm around Will and showing him off to the others. There were times when Will just wanted to jump overboard and swim to shore, but he knew if he did that he'd end up getting a long lecture from Jack, about how it's not good for the baby. Honestly! It was as if he thought he was an expert on babies just because he got a man pregnant!

Meal time was even worse, since most of the ship's crew was gathered together to talk and most of the time those talks were about Will. Tonight, it seemed as if it was Anna Maria's turn to check if the baby was still moving inside of Will. Instead of merely placing a hand on his belly, she rested her head there, her ear pressed firmly in place right above his belly button. She smiled as she heard the movement inside of Will's body. Will had to suppress a sigh. He wished he could hear what his baby was doing in him.

"He's sure to be a strong lad, dat he is," Anna Maria declared as she returned to her seat and her mug of rum.

"Aye, that's for sure," Jack said fondly as he came up behind Will and gave him a gentle slap on the back. Will blushed and said nothing. Jack looked down at Will's half eaten plate of food and frowned. "Especially if 'is momma would learn to eat everythin' that's in front o' 'im."

Now Will felt the need to respond. "Jack," he half growled as he turned to glare at his Captain. "I told you not to call me that!"

"Now Willie," Eugene added from across the table. The good doctor seemed to have more than a few drinks in him and it was starting to show. "It makes purfect since for the Cap'in ta call you 'momma'. After all, you are the one carryin' the baby."

The mess hall was full of laughter at the red haired doctor's comment. Will felt angered at the very thought of being called "momma". "Be that as it may," he put in carefully, trying not to sound too angry. He didn't want to be a poor sport about this. "I don't want to confuse the child, thinking that it's normal to call a man 'momma'."

Anna Maria snorted at his comment. "You're over reacting, Will," she commented before taking a wig of her rum.

"She's right," a member of the crew said from across the table. "If a woman can be a pirate, then a man can be a mother."

Both Will and Anna Maria took offense to this comment, but were cut off by Gibbs before either one could reply. "Ye shouldn't be worrin' 'bout what ta call yerself, but rather what ta call the baby. 'S mite bad luck to leave a baby without a proper name."

Both Will and Jack starred at each other blankly. "'Aven't given much thought ta that," Jack confessed.

"Nor have I," Will said.

Jack slide next to Will, wrapping a protective arm around the young man. "The lad'll need a good strong name. A pirate's name." This comment raised a grunted of approval from the crew.

"What about Edward?" Eugene suggested. "Like ol' Blackbeard? That's a mite good pirate."

Will wrinkled his nose at the name. "No, I don't think so."

"What about Henry?"

"Or Morgan?"

"What of Bull?"

"'Haps Joseph?"

Will stayed quite, letting all the others decide on names. Frankly he had thought of a boy's name that he liked, but wasn't sure if the other's would approve, and he was too embarrassed to even mention it. However, he noticed nobody was suggesting any female names. He looked down at his belly and smirked. He wouldn't mind either way if it was a boy or a girl, but it would be good to get an idea for a girl's name as well.

"You know," Will put in, "there is a chance that the baby will be a girl."

The crew responded by breaking out into an uproar of laughter. "What's so funny?" Will asked, confusion written all over his young face.

"William," Jack chuckled, giving the young blacksmith's shoulders a gentle shake. "I doubt we'll be 'avin' a girl."

Will raised an eyebrow, still confused. "Why?"

"The baby has two fathers," Anna-Maria said a matter-of-factly. "It's got to be a boy."

"Besides," said another crew member, "None of Jack's other children have been girls."

The entire ship fell silent. Nobody moved, nobody said anything, nobody even breathed. They all looked from Jack to Will. Will just sat there, dumb struck. The color drained from his face. "Other children?" he thought. The very words echoed in his head. "Otherchildren!" Jack has "other children"? How could that be! He lied to me! No. He didn't lie. He just never told me! In a flash, shock was replaced with anger. How could he not tell him that this wasn't his first child? Will felt his face turn bright red, his fist clenched and his whole body began to shake. He turned to his side to yell at Jack only to find that the pirate captain was gone.


Will stormed off into his cabin, nearly reducing the door to splinters with the force of which he opened and slammed it. Damn you! God damn you, Jack Sparrow! How could you do this to me? He felt hot tears of anger well up in his eyes and he couldn't help but throw himself on his bed and cry his eyes out. "How could you?" he asked the empty room, burring his face into the pillow. "How could you?"

Will heard the door open and he knew right away that it was Jack. He stiffened, waiting for Jack to make the first move. He heard, Jack's heavy boots stride across the room. "William," Jack said, placing a gentle hand on the hurt young man's shoulder.

Will turned around abruptly and slapped Jack's hand away. "Don't you dare touch me!" he barked. He sat up, glaring at Jack dangerously. "How could you not tell me that you have other children?"

"Didn't think ye'd care," Jack said, sheepishly.

"Didn't think I would care?" Will stood up and took a step forward. "You lied to me. You kidnapped me. You made me think that I was special! That I was the first one to give you this gift!" At this last part, he waved his hands, gesturing at his swollen belly. He turned away from Jack feeling tears pour out his eyes again. "How could you do this to me?" He whimpered.

Jack edged closer, attempting to put his hand on Will's shoulder only to have him shrug away. "William," he began seriously. "I'm sorry-"

Will's head snapped up, his eyes were practically red with anger. "Sorry? Sorry? Is that all you can say?" He sat down on the bed, caressing his stomach sadly. "How many?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Jack raised an eyebrow at him. "What?"

"H-How many children do you have?"

Jack sat down next to him only to have Will scoot away from him. He sighed. "Three at the least," he said.

"Three at the least"? Will thought, shocked. "That many?" He stared at Jack amazed. He knew that Jack had a thing for whores, but after one child wouldn't he stop?

Jack nodded. "Yep, 'bout three boys, that I know of at least," he confessed, a slight sadness in his tone. "Could be more for all I know. Don't like me very much. One even tried to kill me once." He leaned back on his elbows, starring upward at the ceiling above him. "Their mums turned 'em against me. Told 'em that I'm wicked and their miserable 'cause 'o me. All of 'em told me never ta come 'round anymore."

Will studied Jack's face carefully. From his expression, it seemed like he didn't care at all, as if he were only talking about the weather. However, from the hurt look in his eyes and the slightest hitch in his tone, Will could tell that Jack was hurting. Still, it didn't make any sense to him. He shook his head slowly. "I don't understand," he began slowly. "Why didn't you just do the same to them, to those women, as you did to me? Why not just spirit them away and make them keep you in their child's life?" He looked down at his lap, staring at his hands on his stomach. "What's the difference between me and all the other whores, you've been with?"

Jack turned to Will and smirked at him. "First o' all, ye're not a whore," he said sternly. "Second o' all, I love ye."

"And how am I suppose to believe that?" Will asked seriously, letting his hurt flow into his words. "How do I know that I'm not the first person you've ever told that to?" He got quite for a moment. "I feel as though I can't trust you. As if your just going to hurt me again."

"Ye can always trust me lad," Jack said, sitting up and trying to take Will's hands in his only to have the young blacksmith pull them away.

Will pinned him with a hard look. "Then why didn't you tell me that this baby could kill me?" Jack simply stared at him blankly, not knowing how to respond. "That's right Jack," Will added after watching Jack's mouth open and close like a fish on land, gasping for breath. "I know. I read it in one of Eugene's medical books. It's more then likely that the surgery will kill me.

"When were you going to tell me this? After I went into labor? Or did you decide to never let me know? Just simply let me die and take the baby for yourself."

Jack quickly grabbed Will and pulled him into a tight embrace. "That's not true!" he said, his voice was the same as when Will had told him he wanted to die. "I would never, ever, let anything happen to ye." He quickly kissed the top of Will's head. "I love ye, and damn it I mean it! I've never loved anyone before ye and I'll never love anyone after ye! The last thing I want is to see ye in pain."

"Then why didn't you tell me?"

Jack swallowed hard, feeling a lump forming in his throat. "'Cause I knew it would upset ye. I just wanted ye to be happy, that's all. I wanted yer last few months to be good ones."

Will fell silent, listening to Jacks heart beat through his chest. After a while he was surprised to feel a drop of water hit his cheek. "Jack," he said, pulling back from the pirate. "Are you... crying?"

Jack nodded sadly and rested his head on Will's shoulder, his face completely hidden behind his mass of hair. "Don't wanna lose ye," he sobbed, brokenly. "Yer everything ta me."

"What about the baby?"

"I love 'im too!" Jack said, forcefully, the emotions taking over him. "I love 'im because he's part o' ye! I'll take good care o' 'im, I swear! Live or die!" At the mention of the word "die," Jack broke out into full blown tears, his whole body clasping on Will's, muttering words of love and affection until he finally cried himself to sleep.

Will just sat there for most of the night, taken completely by surprise by the out break of emotion from the pirate. Never in his entire life did he ever think he'd see the day when he saw a pirate crying! What's more, this was Captain Jack Sparrow!

Carefully, Will managed to maneuver Jack into bed, without so much as having the pirate stir. He looked down at the older man, as he slowly took off his boots with amazement and wonder. This was a side of Jack he'd never seen before. Jack had been caring to him these past four months, but all this talk of love and devotion; that's not how he was raised to believe pirates were!

He sighed as he laid Jacks heavy boots down on the floor next to their bed. He slowly removed his own and slid into bed next to Jack. The older man, almost automatically, threw his arms around Will and snuggled closer to him. Will stiffened for a moment then relaxed a bit.

"Will..." Jack moaned, caught in a deep sleep.

Will smiled at him and played with one of the many trinkets in his hair. "I'm here Jack," he whispered to his sleeping form.

"Don't..." he mumbled. "Don't leave..."

"I won't," he promised. "I'm not going anywhere."


AN: Don't bother suggesting names for the baby, because I've already got one picked out. And yes, I've already picked a gender. The baby is going to be born soon. Weird. I feel like I'm both dragging this out, and going too fast.