When Dinah woke up that afternoon the sky had grown dark and her husband had left her side. She frowned, a little upset that he left, but she got over it and picked up the blanket and went inside. The house was oddly silent and empty when she stepped in and shut the door. She looked around but didn't see a pirate in sight. She sighed, wondering where they must've went, especially her husband. She shrugged and went in the kitchen to find one of Katherine's servants in there fixing dinner. She quickly turned around and Dinah asked her, "Where is everyone?"
"Oh, they all went out miss, Cap'an Sparrow told me to tell you that he'd be back with the little ones in an hour or so." Dinah made a face, little ones?
"Okay, um, can you make me some tea please?" the maid nodded and Dinah went into the living room and sat down and started to read a book that Jack had gotten her. When the maid put her tea down Dinah looked up and out the window, it was raining hard and then she heard the door slam open and five bodies come through the door. Squeals of delight came from the five and six year old who came running toward their aunt, but got stopped by their parents, to dry them off. Jack asked for some towels to dry off for everyone and the maid quickly went upstairs.
Jack made eye contact with Dinah and smiled, seeing her wrapped up in a blanket, and reading a book made him think of retirement, or having leave if Dinah ever got pregnant. She got up and walked over to him and hugged his wet body, she got a little damp, but feeling his body warmth made up for it. She kissed him on his rough chin and let go of him to greet the other members of her family.
"AHHH!" She screamed picking up her soaking niece and nephew. She danced them around in her arms and then the maid came down to give the wet visitors their towels. They all quickly dried off and went up into their separate rooms. Dinah followed Jack into their room and asked, "What are they doing here? Your mother couldn't possibly have room for all these people, can she?"
Jack shrugged, "Ana and Evan aren't staying here…"
"So? That still leaves like thirty people, and now thirty four!"
"Luv, my mum has how many rooms in this house?" Jack asked, taking off his sea boots and pants.
Dinah sighed, "Like twenty or so."
"Exactly. It's not like she lives in a hut. The crew is sharing rooms! Exactly like they do on the Pearl! And I'm sure James and Hannah are going to have their children sleep with them." He reassured Dinah while taking off the rest of his clothes, drying off more and putting on clean ones.
Dinah surveyed the mess her husband just left on the floor and picked up the clothes and asked, "How did you manage to get so wet?"
"Well a little while after you fell asleep James and Hannah arrived. Somehow they had gotten word that we had docked here too, and thought it'd be nice to stop by for a visit. Mum welcomed them like they were family and started feeding the little ones sugar, and lots of it. So after she wound them up, she went for a nap and left us to the wild children plus a houseful of pirates. So I ordered the crew out to town and told them to at least buy something like food, instead of eating everything in the house. But there was still the problem of Ben and Beth, so I offered to take them for a ride."
"With you're leg?!"
"Well funny thing, Hannah bought me crutches, and something a little more attractive then the beasts that the doc gave me." Dinah rolled her eyes, the 'doc' gave him perfectly good crutches, but he refused to wear them because he said it made him look weak.
"What do they look like, honey?"
"Their wooden, and carved, and quite useful if I do say so myself…"
"Well of course their useful!..." Dinah was about to go on about how they were supposed to be useful if he just used them but then remembered something, "The doctor said you weren't supposed to get that thing wet."
Jack rubbed his cheek, as if trying to remember if he knew that, he shrugged and said, "Well it wasn't out there for very long. All we had to do was sprint across the lawn."
"Sprint across the lawn? You can't sprint anywhere!"
"Yea well James helped me a little."
Dinah groaned, rolled her eyes and started rubbing her forehead. Jack smiled and walked over to her, and started rubbing her arms to calm her down, "Don't worry luv, if I thought the man was going to kill me, then I wouldn't have allowed him to help me. What are you so worried about?"
"I'm worried that you're going to break your other leg you idiot!" She said pointing to him. He laughed heartily, which made Dinah break a smile. If he was so confident then she should loosen up. "Well fine. But I'm going over to talk to my brother and sister-in-law."
"Fine, but if you come in here, come in quietly 'cause I'll be nappin'. Those kids wore me out." Dinah smiled and nodded and left the room.
Dinah opened the door to find Benjamin and Bethany asleep on the bed and James and Hannah sitting on the window seat talking. "Knock, knock." Dinah said quietly. Hannah turned her head and smiled. She stood up and walked over to Dinah to give her a hug. Hannah was a petite, blond-haired, brown-eyed, perky woman of 25. She had met James while doing some trading business in New York. They had seen each other for only two months and then gotten married and had kids right away. Beatrice seemed to like Hannah more than Dinah, but that was Dinah's perspective. "I'm so glad you're here! I haven't seen you two since the wedding!" She said as James walked over and gave her a hug.
"Dinah Eileen, I'm surprised you've lasted this long!" She pulled apart from her brother and he put his arm around Hannah.
"What do you mean?"
"I thought you were going to come after six months with Jack, and ask for Douglas back."
Dinah eyed her brother, he had a smile on his face but he wasn't joking. "I'm still not getting your full meaning I'm sure, James. What do you mean?"
"I mean I honestly didn't think you'd go this long living with Jack…after all he is a pirate."
"James, I don't know if you got this, but I love Jack. And he loves me. We're married. And I wouldn't leave him even if he told me to."
"But if he left you…"
"James. Stop," Dinah said harshly but not loud, because the little kids were still napping. "I don't want to hear about it. Jack loves me and he loved me back then but had different things on his mind…You know, I don't even know why I'm telling you this because I don't have to explain myself to you or Jack and mines relationship to you. You know what love feels like now so I was hoping this wouldn't be an issue, but obviously it is." She said and then turned to walk out of the door but he stopped her.
"Dinah I'm sorry. To be quite honest with you, I'm not quite used to him being a pirate and part of the family…" Dinah slowly turned and looked her brother in the eye, and he went on, "I mean he's around our kids…"
"Jack wouldn't hurt Benjamin or Bethany and you know it."
"Well I may know that, but there's still doubt in my mind…in our mind."
Dinah's eyes darted to Hannah and she nodded meekly, "But don't get me wrong, I think Jack is quite charming and I can understand why you fell in love with him, but the fact that he's a pirate…"
"What's wrong with you two? Yes, Jack is a pirate but he wouldn't do anything to hurt any of us! Not intentionally at least! He may be crude and rough and piratey at times, but that's his nature! I mean his parents are pirates! Can you help who your parents are?"
"Are you trying to tell us he's a pirate because his parents are?" James questioned.
"James, father was the biggest influence in your life, that's why you grew up to be a merchant! Because father was a merchant. Do you think that's different for other people?"
James thought about this and then said, "Okay, you have a point, but that doesn't change the fact that he's a pirate."
"You two shouldn't worry. But if you kill me, one of his crew members or take his rum, then you should worry," and with that she left the room. She was a little mad that James had brought this whole thing up, yes she knew he didn't like pirates, but she had been married to Jack for two years…yes, she could understand the worry, this being the first time Jack was with the kids, but Jack was sweet to them and careful around them and she could almost see in his eyes a wanting for kids. But the subject had never been brought up.
She walked in the room and saw Jack asleep and heard him snoring slightly. She smiled and went to lie next to him. He woke up when she put her back against his front side and said groggily, "I told you to come in quietly."
She smiled and whispered, "I did, but I needed your company."
"Everythin' aight?"
She nodded, "Yes…I just came back from talking to James?"
"What'd he say about me?"
Dinah smiled, "Nothing too important, I told him not to steal your rum." Jack mumbled something about he "bloody better not" and fell back asleep and Dinah laid there, with Jack's arm around her middle, thinking about how it really wasn't a big deal, so she forgave James and Hannah and tried to think of ways to entertain her niece and nephew with Jack.
When dinner rolled around there were only nine people seated at Katherine's table: Katherine, Jack and Dinah, Hannah and James, Ana and Evan, and the two twins in baby seats that Katherine just 'seemed' to have. "Where is everyone?" Katherine asked when everyone was seated and the food in dishes in front of them.
Jack shrugged, "I told 'em to leave, but not for the whole day."
"I think they're down at the pub…" Ana said. She looked at Jack and shrugged, "I told them you'd be okay with it…"
Jack smiled, "You're the boss, Captain Ana Maria." Dinah looked at Jack from across the table, he had a smile and he was looking at Ana. She sighed, hoping he wouldn't 'forget' the promise.
"Yes, well Ana might not be able to go through with your accord." Evan said, putting some mashed potatoes on his plate and come gravy. Ana stared at him until he made contact with her.
"What do you mean? Of course I'll be able to go through with it!"
"What if I need you?"
"Evan, you have a whole crew! Do you really need me?"
"I don't know! I might. Some things you're just better with."
"Wait, are you telling me you don't want me to go?"
Evan looked around and then looked at Ana again, "That might be what I'm saying."
"Well is it or isn't it?"
Evan paused, "Ana, you're acting like this is more important than being on the Challenger…we're going to be doing the same bloody things, so why would it matter?"
Ana paused, it mattered because it was the Pearl. Not just some ship, it was the Pearl. Jack noticed the conflict Ana was having with herself, but refused to let down his offer. Dinah also noticed what Ana was going through and took the liberty to do the thing that Jack didn't offer to do.
"Well Ana, if it's a problem then you don't have to do it."
"What?"
"NO!"
"Good!" They all said at the same time. Jack said 'what' looking at his wife in disbelief, Ana said 'no', and then was surprised when it came out of her mouth, and Evan said the 'good', because he wanted Ana with him.
"Dinah, you don't have that like of…"
"Of what? Just because I'm not a captain? This obviously isn't going to work out Jack,"
"We made a blasted accord, luv, and pirates take that kind of thing seriously!" Jack said raising his voice. James and Hannah looked at each other and excused the children to go play in their room until either of the parents said otherwise. The two children left and the 'discussion' went on.
Dinah crossed her arms and was about to argue but Evan spoke up before she could, "Ana, why do you want to go, if I can offer you the same thing?"
"Because it ain't the same thing, Evan. Bein' on the Pearl is totally different that anything you could imagine. There's something special and certain about that ship, and I want to feel that again. I'm leaving tomorrow on the Pearl, Evan, you're not stopping me."
"Fine luv, if you want to leave on the Pearl, then don't expect to come back to see me." Evan said getting up and leaving, slamming the door behind him. Ana cursed under her breath as she got up to go after him, and just before she left the house she said, "Stubborn pirate."