Disclaimer: I admit it! Mari is mine! Sniff, sniff. They grow up so fast...
A/N: I know, it's taking me forever to get these out. However, I'm trying to keep up in college, find a job, become formally published, and take care of my sick roommate. So, ta. But I still love you all.
Poke.
Poke. Poke, poke.
Poke.
Jack frowned in his sleep, grunting in annoyance as the tiny finger refused to leave off its ministrations. He attempted to back away from his assailant, but to no avail. A tiny finger inserted itself under his eyelid and peeled it away from his eye. The bloodshot orb struggled to focus, eventually settling on the whelp responsible for interrupting his sleep. Mari stood before his bed, a tiny finger in her mouth, with another firmly planted in his eyeball.
"I can't sleep," she whispered innocently. Jack opened the other eye and removed Mari's hand from his face. So, that means I can't sleep, either, he thought in annoyance. She is just like her mother. Sitting up groggily, he pulled back a section of blanket, tacit invitation to join him. Mari scrabbled up instantly; three months had not brought father and daughter much closer emotionally, but they knew one another better. Mari had come to trust this man, as Bill seemed to like him, and Bill was Will's da. So, Jack mustn't be all bad.
Jack gathered the child in the crook of one arm, settling back onto his pillow. Unintentionally, he began to drift back into slumber. Mari wouldn't have any of it.
"Jack!" she hissed. Jack jerked awake.
"Mm?" he grunted. Mari's eyes, glinting in the dark, regarded him with disconcerting intensity. Yee gads, Jack thought, do my eyes to that to people? He grinned. No wonder the ladies love me...
"Hada bad dream," Mari said reproachfully. Jack raised an eyebrow. Apparently, he wasn't following the rubric for soothing childish nightmares.
"What was it about, pet?" Jack murmured sleepily. Satisfied, Mari snuggled up to him, talking around her finger.
"Ship sank, and I coul'n't swim," she confessed. Jack patted her arm gently.
"Ship's not gonna sink," he comforted. Mari frowned.
"How do you know?" she demanded. Jack rolled his eyes, and sighed.
"Because I'm Captain Jack Sparrow, savvy?"
"Cap-tin Jack Spahrow..." Mari mulled over these words for a few moments, nodded to herself, and lay down. Relieved, Jack followed suit and closed his eyes. He lay on the very brink of sleep, when suddenly...
"Jack?"
He suppressed a sigh. "Yes, my lass?"
"Will you teach me t' swim?"
Jack opened his eyes and frowned a little. Since Mari had boarded the ship, she had continually surprised him with little requests such as this. It was odd; Jack had never equated fatherhood with these sorts of things. In the back of his mind, he had always assumed that one simply stood back and let one's child grow. He was quickly learning this was not the case.
"'Course I will, pet. Soon's we reach someplace suitable. Now, sleep."
Obediently, Mari placed her head on the pillow, firmly beneath Jack's chin. Odd. He hadn't realized the comfort another human presence could bring until now. Even on the rare nights when the whelp stayed in the trundle bed at the foot of Jack's own cot, he slept better for hearing her breathe.
When that very breath he contemplated slipped into the even rhythm of slumber, Jack himself, finally, was allowed to close his eyes and rest until dawn.
Barbossa watched Mari play quietly near the wheel with distaste bordering on revulsion. The rest of the crew had taken to her right away, treating her almost like some sort of mascot, or pet. Before she had come aboard, Barbossa had nearly had every man aboard ready to sign a round robin. Now, not a'one of 'em was willing to betray Jack, and thus betray the little squib.
She was, Barbossa had to admit, no trouble, at least not at present. She was genius at entertaining herself without causing a ruckus, and her opinionated, witty young personality was undeniably endearing. It was clear she had inherited her father's imperturbable charm, along with his eyes.
But, Barbossa reflected, it would be no real problem if she took after her father. If, when she grew older, she began to reflect some of his more...foible attributes, it would make it that much easier to turn the crew round again. Besides, faces changed all the time on a pirate ship. Who was to say if some of those new faces might not like small children so much as the current crew?
Barbossa sneered as Bootstrap hoisted Mari into the air, she squealing with delight. Jack flicked an amused glance at the pair before turning his full attention back to his first love, his Pearl. One would almost think Mari was Bootstrap's child, Barbossa thought. Hmm...that could be useful later.
Released from Bootstraps arms, Mari ran down the length of the ship in a sudden flight of fancy. She stopped, tense, directly in front of Barbossa.
"How ye be doin' little lass?" Barbossa asked, as kindly as he could. Mari's little lips pressed together as she thought this over.
"I don't like you!" she blurted out, and continued her run. Barbossa watched her go with a scowl.
"Feelin's mutual, ill-begotten little squib."
A/N: I know, it's rather short. But (holds up finger) things will begin to move along a bit faster once the whole concept of "time-management" finally seeps into my brain. Meanwhile, review to encourage my speedy updates!