Chapter Ten
When Jack came by the Hobbs home, he was surprised to see Sarah sitting outside on the steps of the house sewing something. It was the first time he had seen the girl without Nathan. Jack frowned at the realization. If Sarah was alone, then where was Nathan?
"Afternoon, lass," Jack greeted. He was rewarded with a startled gasp as Sarah finally noticed his presence.
Sarah shivered slightly, placing a slim hand on her chest as if to calm her rapidly beating heart before looking up at Jack with wide grayish green eyes. "C-Captain Sparrow," she gasped, still attempting to recover from the slight shock. "What brings you here?"
"Jus' passin' by," Jack said casually. "I was on me way ta the smithy ta see Mr. Turner. Figured I'd take another shot at talkin' ta him 'bout his little problem."
"Oh," Sarah began, a slight blush coloring her cheeks. Jack couldn't tell if it was a result of general nervousness or the mere mention of Will's name that caused it, but she seemed completely incapable of forming a sentence now. "Oh uh... well, you see... M-Mister... Mr. Turner..."
"He's not at the shop today," said a shrill voice from directly behind Sarah. Jack frowned as he looked up and saw Mrs. Hobbs standing in the doorway, her arms crossed over her chest as she gave him a stern look. It was obvious from the sour expression on her face that the woman had not gotten over her first impression of him. "I made him stay in bed and leave the shop closed. The lad's a good boy, but he's too hard working for his own good. He needs to find himself a good woman to knock some sense into him."
Jack had to fight back a laugh at the comment. At least he wasn't the only one that thought Will worked too hard. "Well, that's good ta know," Jack smiled. "May I see him?"
Mrs. Hobbs's frown deepened at the question, but she nodded reluctantly, allowing him enough space to pass between her. Jack flashed her his most winning smile, but to no avail. She obviously didn't like him nor did she trust him, but that was no real loss. He wasn't here to see her after all.
As Jack climbed the steps to Will's room, he was slightly surprised to see Nathan sitting cross legged on the floor across from another child around his age. The other boy in question was no where near as handsome as Nathan, but Jack realized that it could very well be his paternal bias that told him that. The other child was pudgy, covered with freckles, and had a mass of dark brown curls on top of his head. When the two boys turned to look at him, he noticed that the child had a piggish looking nose and dark, beady green eyes. No, it wasn't just paternal bias, this child was positively beastly when compared to handsome little Nathan.
"Cap'n Jack!" Nathan cheered happily as he scrambled to his feet and rushed towards Jack, surprising the pirate by engulfing him in a warm hug. Jack stiffened for a moment, completely unused to being hugged by children, but he forced himself to relax when he reminded himself that Nathan was his son and it was perfectly alright for him to be affectionate towards the boy.
"'Ello there lad," Jack greeted, forcing himself to return the child's hug. "Whose yer li'l friend?" he asked, referring to the pudgy child who was currently starring at them, opened mouthed with shock.
"That's Eustace," Nathan said, pointing at the other boy.
"Hello," Eustace said shyly, raising a hand in greeting.
Jack had to fight the urge to wrinkle his nose in distaste at the boy's name. "Eustace"? Of all the things his parents could have named the lad, they choose Eustace? "'Ello," Jack returned. "What are ye two fine young lads up to?"
"We're playing pirates," Nathan explained. "One of our men was injured on a raid and Eustace was about to operate."
"I'm a doctor," Eustace explained.
At this, Jack had to laugh. It figured that Nathan would have a friend who was equally fascinated with pirates. "I see," he chuckled. "An' where is the patient."
"Right here," Eustace said, pointing down at the crudely made wooden man, who was nothing more then a few sticks wrapped in a pile of cloth with wooden arms and legs.
"He was shot in the leg, so we're going to chop it off," Nathan said, his tone strangely serious. "Wanna help?"
"Some other time," Jack said, patting the boy's head affectionately. "Where's ye Da'?"
"He's napping. Mrs. Hobbs said he wasn't aloud to leave his room today. I think he's in trouble."
"Not in trouble," Jack assured, "jus' not feelin' like himself."
"Is he sick?" Nathan asked concern clear in his voice.
Jack mentally quirked an eyebrow at the boy's comment. He would have thought that Nathan would have picked up on that by now. After all, it was obvious from Will's appearance that he was ill and just about everyone around the blacksmith was constantly trying to convince him to see a doctor. Yet Nathan seemed completely taken aback by the very idea that his father was sick! The only possible explanation that Jack could conceive was that everyone had been trying to keep Nathan in the dark about Will's gradually decreasing health and Jack felt like a fool for being the one to actually let it slip that the boy's father was sick.
"Don't ye worry 'bout a thing, lad," Jack said, side stepping the boy's question. "I'm jus' gonna pop in an' have a quick word with him."
Nathan said nothing. He merely nodded as he allowed Jack to pass him by and head towards Will's door.
Jack paused before entering, deciding it would be better to knock instead of just walking in on Will while the younger man was still asleep. He knocked gently, still unsure whether or not the younger man was asleep. Of course, when the only reply was the soft groans and the sound of someone retching their guts out, Jack decided that Will was indeed awake and decided to enter in spite of what the younger man might think. He was also mindful to quickly close the door behind him before the children could hear anything.
Upon entering, Jack was greeted by the sight of Will on his hands and knees, emptying the contents of his stomach into a near by chamber pot. Jack visibly cringed at the very sight. The poor young man looked even worse since the last time Jack had seen him (which, by his count, was only three days ago). Jack frowned as he went to kneel down beside the younger man, rubbing his back soothingly. The young man stiffened at the contact, but the fact that he was overcome by dry heaves prevented him from instantly turning to look the pirate in the eyes, but Jack could tell that Will knew he was there.
"What are you doing here?" Will asked between coughs.
Jack shrugged, resting his hand on Will's back affectionately. "Said I wasn' leavin' 'til ye saw a doctor."
Will groaned as he sat back on his heels, his face glistening with sweat and his skin an unpleasant shade of green. Not to mention the fact that the poor boy was getting thinner by the minute. "And how do you know that I haven't?" Will challenged.
Jack scoffed, suddenly remembering Mrs. Hobbs's words from earlier.
"He needs to find himself a good woman to knock some sense into him."
He may not be a woman, but Jack would be more then happy to take it upon himself to knock some sense into the younger man's thick head. "Sorry, luv," Jack chuckled, "but I know ye didn'."
Will let out yet another groan as he got to his feet and made for his bed, which looked rumpled and slept in. He sat back down with an audible sigh. Without invitation, Jack went ahead and sat down beside the younger man. He wasn't at all surprised when Will scooted away from him, he'd actually been expecting it, but he decided not to comment on it.
"I don't want to talk about being sick," Will said stubbornly.
"Fine," Jack shrugged. "We can talk 'bout somethin' else."
"As if I want to talk to you anyway," Will muttered, but Jack pretended not to hear him.
"I hear tell ye're lookin' fer a wife," he said casually.
Will flushed slightly at the other man's comment and Jack was happy to see the younger man look embarrassed rather then indignant for once. "I'd rather not talk about that either."
"Now we've got to talk 'bout somethin'," Jack teased. "Ye've probably got quite the score o' lovely young lasses knockin' on yer door, beggin' ye ta put a pretty li'l ring on their dainty fingers."
"It's not like that Jack," Will said tightly, getting a bit more irritated then Jack had expected. "I'm not like that and you know it."
"I know," he said seriously. "An' I also know that if ye really wanted ta get married, ye would 'ave done so by now."
"I wanted to get married," Will corrected. "I don't anymore. After Nathan was born, I thought that the best thing to do, the right thing to do, would be to get married so that he could have a normal life... it never happened. I was always too busy with work or taking care of Nathan, so there wasn't much time for anything else."
So he really was celibate for five years! "An' there's somethin' else, isn't there lad?" Will frowned at Jack's question, cocking his head to the side in confusion. "There's more too it then that. Ye must o' had other reasons ta want ta get hitched."
Will flushed, turning away from Jack in slight shame. He was surprised to see a single tear roll down the corner of Will's eye, before the blacksmith quickly whipped it away; obviously hoping that Jack hadn't spotted it. "It was a stupid reason..." he muttered shamefully.
Jack smiled knowingly at that, placing a firm hand on Will's shoulder. He already knew the answer now, but he'd rather have Will say it out loud. "Go on, lad," Jack pushed. "Ye can tell me. Whatever ye say stays between us."
"As if I can trust you," Will grumbled, but his voice had suddenly tightened with emotion, and Jack knew right away that Will wasn't going to be able to keep quite about his desire much longer. "I... I wanted to have more children," he confessed. The blacksmith's shoulder's instantly slumped at his own words, his head hanging low in a defeated manner. It was as if he had just said something vial and revolting, but Jack actually thought that it was quite... sweet.
"There ain't nothin' wrong with that, lad," Jack assured, rubbing the younger man's shoulders supportively. "It's only natural for ye ta want another baby. Nathan's gettin' older an' all, pretty soon he won't need ye as much an' ye jus' want a baby ta take care o' an' such. Always figured ye were the family type-"
"You don't understand do you?" Will blurted out. "I wanted to have another child so badly that I was willing to marry someone that I didn't love just to get what I wanted! I'm a terrible person for even considering such a thing!"
"Ye're not terrible," he soothed, scooting closer so that he could properly wrap an arm around the young blacksmith. Jack suddenly liked very much the way this conversation was going. He enjoyed the way that Will was opening up to him, telling him things that he probably hadn't told anyone else. He didn't know where this display of emotion had come from, but he was...
Wait a minute, when has Will Turner ever been emotional?
Jack all but froze at the thought, backing away from the other man slowly. The pieces were slowly starting to come together and he felt like the world's biggest fool for not seeing it all before! Will's illness had occurred soon after their argument. He was getting thinner, vomiting constantly, and, if the rumpled bed were any indication, completely drained of energy. Not to mention this bizarre emotional outburst! "Ye're pregnant."