Chapter 2: changing of the guards
Jack awoke to the sound of Victoria crying. He had a splitting headache all of a sudden, and he discovered that he could no longer breathe through his nose. His eyes were watering and he felt as though he had something scaly in his throat. Anna Maria moaned and hit Jack on the arm. "Your turnd, Jack. I feel terrubble." She gave a hacking cough and rolled back over to leave him to it.
Jack wanted to move, he really did, but he just couldn't make his body work properly. With a great deal of effort, he managed to pull himself into a sitting position. A wave of dizziness swept over him. 'I wasn't drinking was I?' He mused to himself. 'Ugh. I feel like shit.'
"Annie? Are you sure you can't get her?" He asked before flopping back onto the mattress. "Annie?" She was already fast asleep with her mouth hanging open.
"Okay, then." Jack pulled himself upright once more. This time, he managed to get to his feet, his stance more wobbly than usual (if that can be believed...) He grasped his nightstand and walked shakily towards the wall in front of him. "Shhhh, Vicky, luv. Please, just give me a minute." Jack caressed her cheek as he made his way to the wall. Once he reached it, he pounded his fist against the wood. 'Bang, bang, bang!'-- "Gibbs! Gibbs! Wake up and get yourself in here, man! Now!" A series of scuffling noises and thuds could be heard from through the thin clapboard.
In a matter of seconds a portly man with a scruffy beard and graying hair appeared in the doorway. "I'm 'ere cap'n! What is it?" Mr. Gibbs panted as he spoke, trying to catch his breath.
"Alfred, I need you to get Victoria back to sleep. Check her diaper, feed her, sing to her, whatever it takes, just get her back to bed. Can I trust you with that? May want to keep her outta this cabin for a while, too. Anna Maria's gotten me sick. Don't want the baby to be catchin' anything, seeing as we're so far out with no medicine or a healer an' all." Jack explained.
Mr. Gibbs just stood there staring blankly at his captain for a few moments. "Mr. Gibbs?" Jack inquired. "What? Oh yeah, right. So... you want me to, er, take care of the baby, do ya?" Gibbs said finally.
"Isn't that just what I've been telling you to do?" Questioned Jack.
"Well, yessir, but I- I dunno nothin' about kids an' all. How do ya expect me to be able to handle her?" Stammered Gibbs.
"Oh, I'm sure that you'll do a superfluous job of it. It's not that difficult really." Jack lifted the crying infant out of the cradle and hoisted her up to his shoulder, bouncing slowly. "And besides, the whole crew is there to help you with her if you need it. I just don't want her to catch cold. Not a lot we could do for her if she did, savvy?"
Jack gave Victoria a quick kiss on the forehead and handed her over to a dumbstruck Gibbs. "Ta, Al. Knew I could count on you, mate." Jack thanked him. Then he shooed him out of the door and fell back into bed.