A/N: Ahoy, readers! ::ducks smack from muse:: Jack has recovered considerably, so you get TWO chapters today; feel lucky. ::Jack bows:: I really like this one, but it was hard to write, like the last one. It's much longer than last time, so yay! Tell me if you think I've got Jack right here; I was a little worried. Which is why it was so hard. Anyhow, I love this chapter, but it's making me think maybe I should make this humor/drama instead of humor/general. Anyhow, let me know what you think! Oh btw, to the reviewer who corrected me on "parlay", it actually is "parlay". "Parler" is the infinitive "to talk". "Parlay" is actually a word, and it means a discussion, as in a negotiation. For example, "It's time we had a parlay." I also use the word "pow-wow", hehe, but that's cowboys and indians, not pirates, but it works the same way!!
Chapter Five: Aye, but we're loved by our Mommies and Dads...
Anna-Maria crawled down from the sails with a satisfied sigh. She'd fixed up the problem quicker than anticipated. Jack was out of the way, and she suspected Ellie was a little happier for the time being. What a sweet child … so small and alone in the world, yet so brave. The thought of Ellie brought a smile to her lips. Yes, Anna-Maria was in an excellent mood. That is, until she heard Jack Sparrow's voice. How the blazes had he gotten out of the brig?! Furious, she stalked to the helm, where she could hear Jack's voice.
"Yo HO, it's yo HO! Not 'yo NO'! Now, come on, love, try this - We kindle 'n char, inflame 'n ignite …"
Anna-Maria came in sight of the helm, and stopped short. Gibbs was actually steering, not Jack, as she had guessed. Jack was sitting on an overturned mop bucket and Ellie was sitting at his feet. He was apparently in the process of teaching her the words to his bloody pirate song, which he insisted on signing all the time.
"We kindle 'n char, inflame 'n ignite!" mimicked Ellie in a high, clear voice.
"That's it, love, you've got it!" cried Jack, happily, and prepared to start in on the next line, when he saw Anna-Maria.
"Oh, dear," he said, and then stood up and gave Anna-Maria a little salute. "Madam."
"Jack," Anna-Maria sighed, rolling her eyes skyward. "I don't suppose I should be surprised."
Jack, seeing he was not going to be asked one of the "how" questions he always loved, improvised.
"'Course not, love! I'm Captain Jack Sparrow!" He spread his hands in a "can-I-help-it-if-I'm-great" manner. Anna-Maria shook her head.
"Well, at least you and Ellie are getting along."
"Getting along? 'Course not, can't wait for the little brat to leave," he said, offhandedly and gruffly, but he winked at Ellie, and she giggled.
"I hate him!" she cried, with real feeling. Anna-Maria stared at the two of them, a little shocked.
"Anna, love, do me a favor -- Gibbs still asleep, go slop a bucket on him," said Jack, with authority.
"Uh - Ellie, I uh --"
"Bye," waved Ellie, cheerfully, and Anna-Maria stumbled off, confused.
Jack bust into laughter as soon as she was out of earshot.
"Not bad, little britches - ye're quite an actress." Ellie gave him a grin. "Now what say I teach you the rest of that song, eh?"
Anna-Maria was fast asleep when Ellie crept out of the small room that they shared. She slipped silently up the helm, and joined Jack, where he had just relieved a tired Gibbs of the wheel.
"Lovely morning, eh, pet?" he said, with a smile.
"Lovely," she said, giving him a little salute.
Jack was in a particularly good mood this morning. He'd slept well the night before, and this little brat … well, wasn't all that bad, really. Well, she was at least … bearable… sort of … Plus, he was up early, he was sailing the Pearl, and it looked like a sunny day ahead. Yes, life was good.
It was because Jack was in such a good mood that he started singing again. It wasn't long before Ellie joined in, and soon they were belting the song at the tops of their lungs. It woke up various crew members, and they started to drift onto the deck, yawning, scratching, mumbling about hangovers and food and how Jack was too bloody loud in the mornings.
Anna-Maria was having a very strange dream. Something about Jack and Ellie and being friends. She was still mired in the stupor of the dream when she started hearing singing. Very loud singing. It sounded like Jack … and Ellie? Anna-Maria was instantly awake, and she hurried out of her cabin. Indeed, there was Ellie and Jack, at the helm. Ellie had an arm looped through Jack's arm, and he was scrunched down just a little so that she could reach it. They were harmonizing, singing their way through all five verses, which Ellie had seemingly learned to perfection. She had acquired a little of Jack's jewelry -- a couple of rings were hooked around her fingers, and Anna-Maria recognized the pearl necklace that Jack had thieved from Isla de Meurta two summers ago.
"Jack!" Anna-Maria couldn't restrain her cry of surprise.
"Oh, good morning, Anna!" said Jack, amicably. "Hope we didn't wake you." He winked down to Ellie.
"I'm going to be a pirate!" announced Ellie, happily. "Like you an' Jack!"
"An admirable decision," said Jack, solemnly. "Now, put yer hands here on the helm and I'll teach ye how to steer the Pearl. You can be me first mate!" At this, he picked his old tri-cornered hat up off of his head and plopped it onto Ellie's smaller one. It was far too big for her and it immediately slid over her eyes. She laughed and pushed it back a little so that she could see, and placed her hands where Jack had indicated.
Anna-Maria was speechless. Who in all the seven seas was this, and what in God's name had he done with Captain Jack Sparrow? Anna-Maria had never seen him look like that. All luminous and paternal and ... mushy. He certainly never looked like that with her, even when she was being her most alluring, feminine (with was rare) self. She shook her head in amazement.
"Captain --" Gibbs walked up, looking a little worse for the wear, as he always did in the morning, and said, "Ye realize ye've turned off of the course fer Port Royale -"
"Shh!" Jack said, poking the pirate in the side.
"What's this?" asked Anna-Maria. Jack looked up at the sky with such surprise that it might have suddenly turned bright orange. She walked closer to the helm. "Jack? What's this?" He looked down at her, pretending he hadn't noticed her before.
"What's what, darling?"
"Why aren't we going to Port Royale? We have to drop Ellie off."
"Nay, well, I figure, there's good pillaging to be done in other parts of the Main, and she's not so much of a bother we can't keep her on a while longer, so's we don't miss any other opportunities because of her, eh?"
"Jack, we're only about twelve hours from Port Royale. Whyn't we just drop her off, and then go pillagin'? Have ye gone daft?"
Jack looked at her, surprised.
"Aren't I already?"
"Jack, talk straight."
"Well, if she's goin' to be a pirate, she might as well learn early!" said Jack, loudly, changing tactics.
"She is not going to be a pirate," said Anna-Maria, annoyed.
"Yes, I am!" said Ellie.
"See?" said Jack, pointing down at the little girl. Anna-Maria ignored this.
"Jack, she is going to live with Will and Elizabeth and have a good upbringing. She's not going to be a pirate!"
"You're a pirate, I'm a pirate, what's wrong with pirates?" asked Jack.
"Nothin', but Ellie ought to grow up in a decent home!"
Ellie was looking back a forth from Anna-Maria's face to Jack's face as they argued as if there were a ball flying back and forth between them.
"She needs parents!" continued Anna-Maria.
"Well, what's wrong with me?!" Jack finally exploded.
There was a stunned silence on the deck of the Pearl.
"You?!" Anna-Maria finally said, incredulous. "You couldn't parent a cat, Jack! Between whores, rum, and pirating, you've precious little time to raise a child!"
"Well, why can't you help me?!"
Anna-Maria and Gibbs, who was still standing there, were staring at him as if he'd lost his mind.
"Well, I'm not cut out to be a mother, either!" Anna-Maria cried.
"Well, between the two of us --"
"Jack, no! She is not staying on the Pearl; I can't believe we're even considering it! She's going to Port Royale! Now turn this ship back on course, now!"
Jack was about to speak, when suddenly the light pressure than had been Ellie's hand on his sash disappeared. He looked down and didn't see the little girl. Looking up, he saw her run across the deck and disappear down in the hold.
"Now see here, Anna," he said, weakly. "You've upset her --" He started off after her.
Ellie was sitting on a stool in the brig when Jack found her. She had her back to hi, and he didn't say anything for a moment, because she was singing, quietly and mournfully under her breath.
"We're beggers and blighters and ne'er do well cads … drink up, me hearties, yo ho … aye, but we're loved by our mommies and dads … drink up, me hearties, yo ho."
A/N: more to come soon, fear not! There may be some Will and Elizabeth in the next chapter, yay! And I finally got a plot in mind for this, whereas before I was just writing Jack-hates-kid nonsense, but hooray now I have DIRECTION! wonderful! ::Jack bows again:: Well, review, review, review!!
Chapter Five: Aye, but we're loved by our Mommies and Dads...
Anna-Maria crawled down from the sails with a satisfied sigh. She'd fixed up the problem quicker than anticipated. Jack was out of the way, and she suspected Ellie was a little happier for the time being. What a sweet child … so small and alone in the world, yet so brave. The thought of Ellie brought a smile to her lips. Yes, Anna-Maria was in an excellent mood. That is, until she heard Jack Sparrow's voice. How the blazes had he gotten out of the brig?! Furious, she stalked to the helm, where she could hear Jack's voice.
"Yo HO, it's yo HO! Not 'yo NO'! Now, come on, love, try this - We kindle 'n char, inflame 'n ignite …"
Anna-Maria came in sight of the helm, and stopped short. Gibbs was actually steering, not Jack, as she had guessed. Jack was sitting on an overturned mop bucket and Ellie was sitting at his feet. He was apparently in the process of teaching her the words to his bloody pirate song, which he insisted on signing all the time.
"We kindle 'n char, inflame 'n ignite!" mimicked Ellie in a high, clear voice.
"That's it, love, you've got it!" cried Jack, happily, and prepared to start in on the next line, when he saw Anna-Maria.
"Oh, dear," he said, and then stood up and gave Anna-Maria a little salute. "Madam."
"Jack," Anna-Maria sighed, rolling her eyes skyward. "I don't suppose I should be surprised."
Jack, seeing he was not going to be asked one of the "how" questions he always loved, improvised.
"'Course not, love! I'm Captain Jack Sparrow!" He spread his hands in a "can-I-help-it-if-I'm-great" manner. Anna-Maria shook her head.
"Well, at least you and Ellie are getting along."
"Getting along? 'Course not, can't wait for the little brat to leave," he said, offhandedly and gruffly, but he winked at Ellie, and she giggled.
"I hate him!" she cried, with real feeling. Anna-Maria stared at the two of them, a little shocked.
"Anna, love, do me a favor -- Gibbs still asleep, go slop a bucket on him," said Jack, with authority.
"Uh - Ellie, I uh --"
"Bye," waved Ellie, cheerfully, and Anna-Maria stumbled off, confused.
Jack bust into laughter as soon as she was out of earshot.
"Not bad, little britches - ye're quite an actress." Ellie gave him a grin. "Now what say I teach you the rest of that song, eh?"
Anna-Maria was fast asleep when Ellie crept out of the small room that they shared. She slipped silently up the helm, and joined Jack, where he had just relieved a tired Gibbs of the wheel.
"Lovely morning, eh, pet?" he said, with a smile.
"Lovely," she said, giving him a little salute.
Jack was in a particularly good mood this morning. He'd slept well the night before, and this little brat … well, wasn't all that bad, really. Well, she was at least … bearable… sort of … Plus, he was up early, he was sailing the Pearl, and it looked like a sunny day ahead. Yes, life was good.
It was because Jack was in such a good mood that he started singing again. It wasn't long before Ellie joined in, and soon they were belting the song at the tops of their lungs. It woke up various crew members, and they started to drift onto the deck, yawning, scratching, mumbling about hangovers and food and how Jack was too bloody loud in the mornings.
Anna-Maria was having a very strange dream. Something about Jack and Ellie and being friends. She was still mired in the stupor of the dream when she started hearing singing. Very loud singing. It sounded like Jack … and Ellie? Anna-Maria was instantly awake, and she hurried out of her cabin. Indeed, there was Ellie and Jack, at the helm. Ellie had an arm looped through Jack's arm, and he was scrunched down just a little so that she could reach it. They were harmonizing, singing their way through all five verses, which Ellie had seemingly learned to perfection. She had acquired a little of Jack's jewelry -- a couple of rings were hooked around her fingers, and Anna-Maria recognized the pearl necklace that Jack had thieved from Isla de Meurta two summers ago.
"Jack!" Anna-Maria couldn't restrain her cry of surprise.
"Oh, good morning, Anna!" said Jack, amicably. "Hope we didn't wake you." He winked down to Ellie.
"I'm going to be a pirate!" announced Ellie, happily. "Like you an' Jack!"
"An admirable decision," said Jack, solemnly. "Now, put yer hands here on the helm and I'll teach ye how to steer the Pearl. You can be me first mate!" At this, he picked his old tri-cornered hat up off of his head and plopped it onto Ellie's smaller one. It was far too big for her and it immediately slid over her eyes. She laughed and pushed it back a little so that she could see, and placed her hands where Jack had indicated.
Anna-Maria was speechless. Who in all the seven seas was this, and what in God's name had he done with Captain Jack Sparrow? Anna-Maria had never seen him look like that. All luminous and paternal and ... mushy. He certainly never looked like that with her, even when she was being her most alluring, feminine (with was rare) self. She shook her head in amazement.
"Captain --" Gibbs walked up, looking a little worse for the wear, as he always did in the morning, and said, "Ye realize ye've turned off of the course fer Port Royale -"
"Shh!" Jack said, poking the pirate in the side.
"What's this?" asked Anna-Maria. Jack looked up at the sky with such surprise that it might have suddenly turned bright orange. She walked closer to the helm. "Jack? What's this?" He looked down at her, pretending he hadn't noticed her before.
"What's what, darling?"
"Why aren't we going to Port Royale? We have to drop Ellie off."
"Nay, well, I figure, there's good pillaging to be done in other parts of the Main, and she's not so much of a bother we can't keep her on a while longer, so's we don't miss any other opportunities because of her, eh?"
"Jack, we're only about twelve hours from Port Royale. Whyn't we just drop her off, and then go pillagin'? Have ye gone daft?"
Jack looked at her, surprised.
"Aren't I already?"
"Jack, talk straight."
"Well, if she's goin' to be a pirate, she might as well learn early!" said Jack, loudly, changing tactics.
"She is not going to be a pirate," said Anna-Maria, annoyed.
"Yes, I am!" said Ellie.
"See?" said Jack, pointing down at the little girl. Anna-Maria ignored this.
"Jack, she is going to live with Will and Elizabeth and have a good upbringing. She's not going to be a pirate!"
"You're a pirate, I'm a pirate, what's wrong with pirates?" asked Jack.
"Nothin', but Ellie ought to grow up in a decent home!"
Ellie was looking back a forth from Anna-Maria's face to Jack's face as they argued as if there were a ball flying back and forth between them.
"She needs parents!" continued Anna-Maria.
"Well, what's wrong with me?!" Jack finally exploded.
There was a stunned silence on the deck of the Pearl.
"You?!" Anna-Maria finally said, incredulous. "You couldn't parent a cat, Jack! Between whores, rum, and pirating, you've precious little time to raise a child!"
"Well, why can't you help me?!"
Anna-Maria and Gibbs, who was still standing there, were staring at him as if he'd lost his mind.
"Well, I'm not cut out to be a mother, either!" Anna-Maria cried.
"Well, between the two of us --"
"Jack, no! She is not staying on the Pearl; I can't believe we're even considering it! She's going to Port Royale! Now turn this ship back on course, now!"
Jack was about to speak, when suddenly the light pressure than had been Ellie's hand on his sash disappeared. He looked down and didn't see the little girl. Looking up, he saw her run across the deck and disappear down in the hold.
"Now see here, Anna," he said, weakly. "You've upset her --" He started off after her.
Ellie was sitting on a stool in the brig when Jack found her. She had her back to hi, and he didn't say anything for a moment, because she was singing, quietly and mournfully under her breath.
"We're beggers and blighters and ne'er do well cads … drink up, me hearties, yo ho … aye, but we're loved by our mommies and dads … drink up, me hearties, yo ho."
A/N: more to come soon, fear not! There may be some Will and Elizabeth in the next chapter, yay! And I finally got a plot in mind for this, whereas before I was just writing Jack-hates-kid nonsense, but hooray now I have DIRECTION! wonderful! ::Jack bows again:: Well, review, review, review!!