45. Announcement
Jack and Elizabeth were both thrilled, not only about the fact they'd made up with each other, but also because of the prospect of becoming parents. Jack was particularly thrilled, and had taken to walking around the ship with a grin on his face and a spring in his step, praising his crew members and offering them extra rum for no apparent reason.
Gibbs was quick to notice the change in Jack, and though he'd thought it was just because of his reunion with Elizabeth for the first few days, after a week of Jack's unusual behaviour, he began to suspect something else was the cause of Jack's newfound happiness.
Jack and Elizabeth had agreed not to tell any of the crew about her pregnancy until they'd checked that every single member of the Pearl's crew was deemed 'safe'. After the incident with Thomas, they were unwilling to trust any member of their crew and so were planning a rigorous interview process to make sure that their child was born into a safe environment. They hadn't even told Gibbs, though Jack's excitement led him to make the decision on Elizabeth's behalf to tell the first mate their news.
'Lizzie's expecting a baby,' he blurted, when Gibbs asked him why he was so merry. Gibbs stared at him, his eyes wide. Jack wasn't sure if Gibbs had heard him. 'My baby,' he added, and when Gibbs still didn't respond he sighed impatiently. 'Mr Gibbs, Lizzie is pregnant. I'm going to be a father. Did ye hear me?'
'Aye Jack, I heard ye,' said Gibbs, his mouth curving into a smile. 'I'm just surprised. Congratulations Jack!' He slapped Jack on the back. 'I should have known it'd happen sooner or later, what with the sounds that come out of yer cabin late at night.'
Jack smirked.
'So, when's the baby due?' asked Gibbs.
'We'll find out for certain when we visit a midwife in Tortuga, but we think it'll be a few weeks before Christmas,' Jack told him.
'You're this excited already?' laughed Gibbs. 'I'd hate to see what you're going to be like in eight months.'
'I can't wait,' grinned Jack.
'I think you'll be different when the time comes,' said Gibbs. 'You'll be sick of Elizabeth by then.'
'No I won't! She's me wife!'
'Jack, have you ever been around a pregnant woman before?'
'No, why?' asked Jack, his eyes widening in worry. Would pregnany turn his wife into a creature as foul and hideous as the Kraken?
'To start, she'll probably start throwing up every single morning,' Gibbs informed him and Jack winced. 'Then there are the mood swings, where one minute she'll be worshipping the ground ye walk on and then she'll suddenly start throwing things at yer head. She'll start having funny food cravings and will demand ye sail across the Caribbean to find the food for her, only to deny all knowledge of the craving when ye do eventually find it.'
Jack's face was horrified, dreading the coming months. 'Is it really this bad?'
'There are a couple of perks,' said Gibbs. 'About four months in, there'll be one thing on her mind.'
'And what's that?'
'Sex,' said Gibbs simply, and Jack smiled. 'She'll keep ye going all day, every day. Yes, it might sound good now, but when she passes through that phase it gets even worse. Swollen feet, back ache, tiredness, the growing belly, grumpiness. Ye'll be counting down the seconds until that little 'un pops out, just so ye can get yer wife back. And then when the baby's born there'll be more trouble. Crying all through the night, loads of poop and sick. It'll be tough Jack.'
'Yes, but I'm Captain Jack Sparrow,' he replied, putting a brave face on, though for the first time, he wasn't entirely sure that just his name would be enough to get him through what the next few months had in store.
As soon as the Black Pearl arrived in Tortuga, Jack, Elizabeth and Gibbs began to interview each and every member of their crew to make sure they only kept the trustworthy pirates, if such people existed. Some of them, like Marty and Cotton, were obvious to keep, having proved their loyalty to Jack over and over again. Other more thuggish crew members were clear rejections, and Jack knew from their violent history that he would never be able to keep them around his child. A few men were tricky decisions, but they eventually decided one way or the other.
Pintel and Ragetti fell into a category entirely of their own. Jack found himself unable to completely trust them after their involvement in Barbossa's mutiny many years ago, but their attachment to Elizabeth made him certain they would never do anything to harm her or their child, so he allowed them to remain in their crew.
After several days of tough decisions and a couple of fights with the men who were angry to have been removed from the crew, the Pearl was left with its two captains, a first mate and nine other men. While it was possible to sail the ship with a crew this small, it would mean hard work, longer shifts and more strain on Jack. Fortunately, they'd forseen this problem and had sent a message ahead to Tai Huang on the Empress, asking to meet them in Tortuga. The Empress wasn't too far away, never returning to Singapore after the battle of the maelstrom in case Elizabeth ever needed them, and they met up with Tai Huang only two weeks after their own arrival in Tortuga. Elizabeth's stand-in captain was very willing to give some of the Empress's crew to the Pearl, and Jack knew these men would be loyal to Elizabeth as their captain and king.
Once their new crew had been established and they had left Tortuga, once again going in search of the Fountain of Youth, Jack and Elizabeth decided it was time to announce their exciting news to the rest of the crew and gathered them on deck.
'Gents, me and Lizzie have something important to tell you,' he told them, finding it hard not to grin madly at them all. 'Lizzie is pregnant. We're going to have a baby!'
The crew immediately started yelling and cheering. Many of them came up to the happy couple to congratulate them. Pintel and Ragetti were particularly thrilled to hear the news, and went away with tears in their eyes after Elizabeth had promised to name them honorary uncles once the baby had been born.
I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I think I got twice as many reviews as I normally get for a chapter, and it made me very happy! THANK YOU! :D
I go back to school tomorrow, so I'm apologizing in advance for the slow updates that will inevitably come. I will try my hardest, my I'm not making any promises.
