Disclaimer: I ought not to be writing this. But I am. So ha. Don't have permission to be using these characters.
Author's Note (10/11/06): Yay! I reached my magic number incredibly fast yesterday. As a result, here's a new chapter. Gummy bears to whoever can tell me which Johnny Depp movie I allude to in this one.
Chapter Eleven: The Dishes
"I thought tha' was me job," Jack remarked as he came down the stairs. John and William were cozy in their bed, prepared to sleep the entire night. He'd exhausted them by playing all sorts of rowdy games that little boys loved.
"What, cooking?"
"Aye." He motioned towards her as she scrubbed the pot she'd used to cook with. "An' the cleaning."
"I thought your job was to be the best pirate captain in the world."
"Well, aye, it generally is." He grinned. "Right now, it jus' so happens me job is t' be a selfless individual." He motioned for her to leave the pot.
"You put the boys to bed, Jack. In all that's fair, I should do the cleaning."
He rolled his eyes and walked up to her, boldly stealing the rag on the counter she usually used to dry the dishes. "Let me help, then."
"If you insist." She pointed towards the wet dishes in the sink. "Those need to be dried and put away.
"I can handle tha'." He grinned and grabbed the first dish, rubbing it dry carefully to not break the delicate baked clay.
"Thank you, Jack," Elizabeth said softly as she looked up to watch him for a moment. He looked rather unusual cleaning because of his profession, but it seemed to suit him.
"No need for pleasantries like tha', luv. Ye needed a good bedding."
She snickered. "I don't entirely think we're talking about the same thing."
He paused for a moment, clearly thinking. "Oh. Er…no problem, luv. The knits like me."
"How could they not?"
"Well, I suppose I could either ignore them or act mean. They wouldn' like me then." He set the newly dried dish on the counter.
"Do they bother you?"
"Not really." He smiled slightly. "I can see why ye love 'em so much. Very adorable."
"So you've revised your opinion of children?"
"Hardly. They complicate things horribly." He picked up a plate to dry.
"They add a new dimension to life, Jack Sparrow. You could learn a thing or two about being selfless and responsible if you had children."
"Who said I don'?" He smirked slightly, his hand moving the rag around the dish slowly.
"Don't what?" She was afraid of the answer.
"Have children." He wiped the dish with increasing speed. "I have children. They complicate things. The mothers of said children hate me because I was never there for them." He pulled a face. "I never gave them any reason t' assume I'd be a Prince Charming or a good father, for the mos' part. I'd come back, expectin' t' pick up things where I'd left off an' that things would be shiny, bu' all that was waiting for me was vindictiveness an' slaps."
"How many children do you have?"
"Why the sudden curiosity? Are ye jealous?" He smirked teasingly at her.
She looked intently into the pot she was scrubbing.
"My past ain't perfect, luv. A man what lives like I did is bound to make more'n a few little ones."
She started scrubbing.
"I know tha' thought is hardly comforting…but when I know about the bundle of joy I generally leave a generous allowance for them."
"How many children do you have that you know about?" She stopped scrubbing, looking into his eyes again.
"Five."
"Did you love any of their mothers?"
"Yes." That answer seemed to make Elizabeth's heart jump to her throat.
"How many?" Her voice was low and strained. She had to know.
"Two." He sighed softly, setting the dry plate down. "One loved me. I loved two. Two were strumpets."
"Ah." She looked down into the pot again.
"Anythin' else you want t' know? Not often I'm going t' be this honest."
"What happened to the two you loved?"
Jack set the towel down on the counter. "The first one din' love me. I left for a few days an' then saw her wiv another man. I guess, technically, the child might not be mine. The second…" His voice unexpectedly caught. "I killed her."
"What?" Elizabeth dropped her brush into the pot full of dirty water. It splashed up and hit her near the eye.
"I din' mean to kill her."
"I should hope not!"
"Are ye goin' t let me explain?" His eyes were dark and surprisingly moody.
"Sorry."
"I fell in love wiv a lass named Meagan Kent. A fine, respectable woman what had a kind heart. She was beautiful, too, bu' tha's not why I was attracted to her."
"What happened to her?"
"I was getting to that." He seemed vaguely annoyed as he grabbed another dish to dry. "I met her in a garden. She seemed absolutely perfect an' me opinion of her just got better each time I saw her. She was in love wiv me, I loved her…I convinced her t' spend some quality time wiv me, as was me nature, and she agreed. A few weeks after that, I was genuinely going t' propose. She seemed t' anticipate me every desire, able to cater t' me every whim. And she was terribly outspoken and had a great sense of humor. Those emerald green eyes of hers…they were spectacular." He sighed, clearly caught up in a memory. "I got drunk one night. One of me so-called friends invited a strumpet over an'…well, I couldn't control meself. Meagan came to talk to me abou' something and found me with the woman. She threw a ring I gave 'er at me." He pointed to the large silver one on his index finger. "Then she left."
Elizabeth looked at him curiously, clearly wondering how in the world he'd decided that amounted to killing her.
He looked at her and laughed softly. "I'm not finished, yet." His eyes were full of pain and Elizabeth suddenly understood how it was that he knew how to help her through her grief. "I ran in'o her again two years later, when I sacked Nassau. There was only one shot fired that night." He looked at his hands. "I was in the governor's house, getting the key t' the treasury. It was a brilliant plan, really, an' it involved very little risk. I took me pistol wiv me, to persuade the governor t' see things my way. I was near the governor's room when I heard someone moving nearby. Thinking tha' they were about to attack, I shot wivout thinking and started towards the door. A hand reached out an' grabbed my boots. I looked down…an'…" A tear spilled down his left cheek. "It was Meagan. Blood was everywhere. I killed her an'…an' she didn' seem angry. Only told me t' take care of our daughter before she died."
"It was an accident, Jack." Elizabeth stepped forward, taking his hand in hers.
"I know." He smiled weakly, squeezing her hand. "I did kill her, though." He looked back at his ring. "Rosemary, my daughter, now lives with my sister. Lovely lass. Thinks she's an orphan. When I think abou' how…how I jus' let Meagan go wivout looking for her…" He shook his head. "I decided there an' then tha' I din' want to fall in love ever again because it was too painful."
Elizabeth nodded understandingly, though her face fell. Suddenly all the ridiculous dreams she'd had of Jack sweeping her off her feet disappeared. He was just here to comfort her and maybe get some comfort himself.
"Children complicate things," he reiterated. "I made her life hard, Elizabeth, when I helped create Rosemary. She was used t' being looked after, an' then she found herself carrying an illegitimate child…" He sighed softly.
"I'm sure she didn't see it that way," she said consolingly. She gently kissed his hand. "If she really loved you, and it sounds as though she did, I'm sure she treasured that baby."
He smiled slightly. "Nice of ye t' say that." He glanced at his ring for a moment. "There are other reasons I'm think they're complications, luv. I'm a man o' the sea an' a pirate ship is no place for a little one. Besides the fact tha' there's numerous hazards t' their health, I live wiv a crew of cutthroats what might even hurt a child."
"I suppose that makes sense." Elizabeth tried not to look too crushed as all her barely conceived dreams disappeared like smoke in the wind.
"Can't even really seriously get involved wiv a woman. Love and piracy don' mix." He smiled a bit oddly. "I tole meself I'd never fall in love again because it was jus' an unnecessary complication, but the odd thing is…" He looked at her and then gently kissed her hand. "I find myself falling righ' now. You've changed me more than ye could possibly imagine, Elizabeth Turner."
Her heart caught in her chest. "Is that good or bad?"
"Haven't decided, yet." He grinned and pulled her close to him. Then he kissed her. An intense fire burned from her lips to her fingertips as she hungrily returned the kiss. Maybe her fondest hopes weren't in vain.
"Can I keep you?" he asked softly, peering into her eyes with an intensity that made her feel as though he were peering into her being.
"I am yours." She kissed him. "For as long as you'll have me."
"That's fortunate." He grinned, running his fingers along the nape of her neck. "I intend t' have you for a long, long, long while."
She shivered before pushing his hand away. "I have to finish scrubbing this pot first, Jack," she chided.
Jack frowned. "Ye saucy wench," he said exasperatedly. "Get me all fired up an' then bring dishwashing into the mix."
She smiled slightly and turned, grabbing the brush from the murky water before scrubbing the sides again.
Jack sighed softly, putting his hands on her shoulders and gently massaging. "You're very tense," he remarked.
"And that feels absolutely heavenly." Elizabeth sighed contentedly, dropping the brush.
"Tha's hardly fair." He stopped moving his hands. "If you're going t' scrub, scrub. If not…" He leaned next to her, threatening to kiss her again. "I'm not a patient man, Elizabeth."
"You've been remarkably patient so far."
"Well, I've had a taste an' I want more." He kissed her neck. "An' I'd like it now, rather than later."
"What if I'm tired?" Elizabeth didn't know why she wanted to tease the pirate captain. She'd given up teasing Will most of the time because he took it far too seriously.
"Your tone of voice would suggest otherwise." He kissed her neck again.
"I could have a headache." She hardly sounded convincing. It was very easy to see how women could be so completely enthralled by the curious captain.
"An' I would call you a liar. Tha's probably the wors' excuse ever." He turned her around to face him. "Forget about the pot for now. I'll clean it in the morning."
"All right." She smiled and kissed him, wrapping her arms around him. "As long as you clean it."
"The things I do for you," he said sarcastically. "Honestly. Cleaning?" He grinned and kissed her in such a way that she couldn't think of anything but him.
