That night while the party was going on at the Turners, Ana quickly changed and snuck out of the house. She walked to the harbor where her ship was and started walking along the beach. So many things had happened that Ana didn't really need a party full of elegant people to make things worse. She wasn't quite sure how Jack was dealing with it. After all he was a pirate, but he was also married to a nobleman's daughter.
Ana got lost her thoughts too easily. She started thinking about her dream that she had told Evan that night on the beach, I probably was pregnant then…how ironic. She thought. She had never actually considered that Evan wouldn't want to have a baby, or have a family, but she guessed his point of view was understandable. You become a pirate to have freedom, not to fall in love and have kids.
Ana wasn't really sure why she had become a pirate in the first place. Well to get away from something that I feared would happen. But in her heart, she was still a little girl in a dress thinking up ways to make Beatrice upset and to have a good time. Today when she was in a dress it felt strange. It felt natural almost.
She took a deep breath, remembering that one of the reasons she became a pirate was because of the ocean. She loved the ocean. It was just a mystery to her. Being on a ship gave her the freedom on the thing she loved most. But why a pirate? Why not a merchant? Because she wanted to be her own boss. She wanted to sail where she pleased. Yes, she was under Jack's authority for a long time, but that was because she had grown to respect Jack and cherish his friendship.
She sighed when she thought about what had happened when she got home from the jail that afternoon.
"How'd it go?" Jack asked immediately. He, Dinah and Elizabeth were all waiting for her when she and Will reached home. Jack got up and helped her to the couch.
She shrugged, "It was okay…but you were right. He didn't recognize me." But she didn't go into much detail due to her looking around and observing her surroundings. The house was full of candles, wreaths, greens, bells and bows. They had gotten a tree, decorated it and set it up right in front of the front window. The house looked beautiful.
Entwined with the staircases were green garlands with red bows. The piano was set up in the back ground with wine on it and glasses and Christmas music ready to be played. The candles were all around the house, smelling the place up and making it seem like Christmas.
"Well what else?" Dinah prodded. Ana snapped her head back to the friends around her.
"Oh, right…I told him who the babe belonged to…he said he was to be hanged sometime next week and that he's not guilty."
"He's not?"
"You didn't really think that Evan could do that…did you?"
"How could you not?" Jack asked, answering for his wife.
"Evan doesn't do that Jack- you should know that!"
"How would I know that? I've never been around the guy long enough to know that."
"He was part of yer bloody crew!"
Jack paused, "You believe 'im, don't you?"
"There's nothing actually proving that he did it. Sure, he was missin' his flag, but pirate ships loose their flags all the time. That, or it's on up because it got ripped or something."
The room was silent, she was right. "So what are you sayin'?" He asked.
"Jack…I think you know what I'm askin'."
He eyed her carefully, "The Pearl's gone lass. There's nothin' I can do."
"Jack, he's going to be hung next week!" She said with desperation in every word. She needed his help now more than ever.
"Ana, are you even sure the Commodore would let up on his punishment? Maybe the other reason he's hanging him is simply because he's a pirate." Elizabeth said.
Well then we've got to help him escape!"
"Ana, why are you willing to do this for a man you practically rejected you?" Will asked.
She paused, not really knowing how to answer that. It had never really entered her brain that she was still willing to do this for a man who broke her heart more than once. She looked at Will and slowly said, "I'm goin' for a walk."
Ana came back to the house when everyone was gone. She walked through the front door but stopped short when she saw Jack and Dinah swaying, almost dancing in the dimly lit room. Ana wasn't sure she had ever seen Jack dance, or do anything close to dancing. But it didn't surprise her that for Dinah, you could find Jack doing anything.
She walked across the house quietly up to her room to find something she wasn't expecting at all. She screamed. Elizabeth, Will, Jack and Dinah quickly came to Ana's room and she pointed to the thing and said to Dinah, "Wasn't Milton supposed to be a male?"
Dinah's eyes widened as she saw Milton in front of her with ten little piglets nursing. Elizabeth looked at her with an open mouth, "Dinah, I have come to love that pig- but ten MORE little ones?"
Dinah made a face and looked at Jack, "Don't look at me luv, ten piglets have no place on me ship."
"Well Jaaaaaack…what am I supposed to do?" She whined, "Look how cute they are!"
His face told her that no whining would help this subject.
"Well then can you at least take them to your mothers?"
"Luv, that's totally off course! I was plannin' on going the totally opposite way!"
"Jack, we can't have these things in our house!" Will said gesturing towards the animals.
"People!" Ana said loudly, "I have me ship, I can take the pigs to Barbados."
"Really?" Dinah cooed.
"No way. Not in your condition." Jack said.
"What? What condition?" Ana questioned. He pointed to her stomach and she rolled her eyes, "Come off it Jack, I can still bend over without tipping over. It's not that bad. I'll be back in two weeks tops."
He eyed her and then eyed the pigs, "Fine."
"Thank you so much Ana. Katherine's the only person I know who won't sell them to a slaughter house."
"No problem, mate. So do you want me to take all of them?"
"No…Milton…uh…Millie should keep one of her kids…and we have to wait 'til their weaned."
"How did Milt-Millie, get pregnant in the first place?" Elizabeth asked.
Dinah looked at Jack and they shrugged, "Possibly a boar at Katherine's house."
"One more thing Ana-" Jack said, "Yer not goin' alone."
"What? Why?"
"Because someone has to take care of you…what if something happens?" Dinah said, backing up her husband.
"Well then who'll go?" Ana asked, crossing her arms.
"I'll go!" Dinah said smiling. Ana smirked and looked at Jack. His hand was covering his closed eyes.
He sighed heavily, "Dinah, luv, you can't go."
"Why not?"
"Two pregnant women all alone on the Caribbean? I don't think so luv."
"Well then who?" Dinah asked. She didn't want her husband to leave her and Will had his shop to tend to.
Ana snapped her fingers and her eyes seemed to come alive by the single thought she had in her head, "I got it."
"Who?" Jack asked, wondering if she was going to try to argue her way out of this.
"Evan. You break him and his crew out of jail and then I can have him and his ship with me."
Jack smiled, "Yer funny you know that? It seems like an awful lot of trouble just to get some piglets to Barbados."
"What other choice do we have? You don't want to leave your wife, Elizabeth isn't fit to be on a ship and Will has his shop. Evan's the only person left."
"And it gives me a reason to break him out, correct?" He asked.
She smiled, "Exactly."
"This is insane and practically suicide for me, you know that right?"
"Yes, but you've been up against worst odds," she said smiling. He rolled his eyes and accepted the challenge. Now all he had to do was think of a plan.
"Will, exactly why did you name the pup Maria?" Ana asked early the next morning. The house was full of jitters from the adults waiting to open their Christmas presents. There were sixteen presents under the tree all waiting to be opened by their proper owner.
Will shrugged, "It seemed appropriate."
"Yer a funny one Will Turner, and yer lucky I'm not gunna throw this syrup covered pastry at yer face."
Jack had confessed last night to Dinah that he had never really had Christmas at his house and this whole party-present thing was so new to him. She laughed and asked him if he had gotten presents for any of them. She slyly smiled and shrugged. Dinah could only hope that it meant a yes.
After breakfast the five sat around the floor, all in their pajamas and robes, and started passing out presents. There was three for each of them and one for Jackson.
Jack opened his first. He had a long box from Will, a small square box from Dinah and a big bow from Ana and Elizabeth. He opened Will's to reveal a new sword, he smiled, "You should've."
"Why not?"
"Because you already have…"
Will laughed. The sword was perfectly balanced as always, and had gold encrusted handle with the letters JS at the top of the handle in gold. He thanked him and went to the next gift. He opened the box from Dinah to reveal a black, velvet box. He eyed her and opened it. She held her breath as Jack took out the gold ring and looked it all over. It had a single sparrow outlined on top and nothing else. He smiled and slipped it on, the sparrow facing the inside of his hand. He leaned over and kissed his wife and looked at his hand seeing what a difference the gold made against the other little rings he had on his fingers.
The next gift brought laughter for the whole group. Elizabeth and Ana had bought him new sea boots which he badly needed, a new coat that look exactly like his old one except newer, and a bottle of rum.
"Ahh, Lizzy! I knew you'd break sooner or later!"
"Jack Sparrow, What makes you think I bought that rum?"
"Because yer smilin' lass."
Ana got a sword from Will and Elizabeth which was both unique and beautiful, a brush from Jack as a joke and a telescope from Dinah. Dinah got a new shiny dagger from Will to encourage her to practice her throwing as Jack has been insisting.
The rest of the morning went fairly well, everyone spent time with each of their new 'toys'. When they all got tired Dinah and Jack went for a walk while leaving the rest of the household quiet. He
"So?"
"So what?"
"How was your first Christmas celebrated with friends and family?" Dinah asked all smiles.
He smiled back and said, "It was a'right. Will made me a beautiful sword…He needs to stop doing that."
"Yea…It's real nice…nice and heavy…"
Jack stopped walking and pulled Dinah around to face him, "Heavy?"
"Yea…like heavy enough to stand on…"
Jack narrowed his eyes, "Who've you been talkin' to?"
She shrugged and Jack focused his glare on his not-so-innocent wife. She sighed, "Well Elizabeth told me about the time when Will saved you at the gallows…I was just thinking…"
"I could do the same for Evan?" He finished.
She nodded.
He sighed, "I don't think it'll be that easy."
"Why not?"
"Because the Commodore will be watchin'," Jack said with a sneer.
"Well you promised Ana…"
"No I didn't luv…" He said breaking eye contact with Dinah and looking down at the sand on his bare feet.
"Jack-"
"No," He said cutting her off with sternness that Dinah had only seen a couple of times, "Ana wants me to do this for her, but like I said it's suicide and with a child on the way I'm not sure you'll be wantin' me gone."
Dinah sighed, not sure that Jack was trying his best at thinking of ways to get Evan out.
"But-" she tried again.
"No! And it's even a bigger risk since there's his whole blasted crew! If it was only him I would consider it but not with his whole crew in that jail. And what happens after we break him and his crew out? Bring them here? There's not even close to enough space to hide them here! And the Commodore would come straight here. Trust me."
"Will you let me get my two senses in please?" She yelled, stomping her foot. He was a bit taken aback but quieted down for his wife. "You may have not promised Ana that you would do it, but in a way you told her you were going to. And you're Jack Sparrow! You can figure out a way to do this if you just tried. But you're not trying because you don't like Evan and the fact that he's got something that you don't."
"And what would that be?"
"Ana Maria, who is one of your best friends."
I got Ana pregnant. Those words had been going through Evan's mind for the past twenty four hours. When Ana left the jail, Evan was in complete shock that he had done something so stupid. Sure, she wanted a kid, but not now. She wanted a husband first. Does this mean I'm supposed to marry her now? He thought to himself. No, I'm being selfish… I love her and I won't marry her? Yea, that's selfish. But knowing it was selfish of him wasn't necessarily going to make him stop being selfish.
I wonder if it's a character flaw. He sighed, not knowing why he was thinking about himself when Ana was the one with the baby. A baby whose father is going to be hung next week. That disappointed him. Sure, he liked kids. They were cute. Except when they screamed, cried, yelled or pooped. He would've looked forward to being a father. Then what's stopping me? Oh yea, my job. Well couldn't I take off a few years? Wait! I'm no landlubber! My home is the sea. Then couldn't we bring the babe along?
A baby at sea? I'm not sure that's the best idea. He argued with himself. Ana I can't leave Ana home with the kid while I leave. If I commit to anything here, either me or Ana will have to give up something. I will have to give up my ship for a few years to stay with her…or she'll have to give up the baby (to a nanny) and come with me…
Evan sighed, and rubbed his forehead. I have a feeling she won't give up the baby.
----------------------------
Author Thanks:
Oktaria: YAY! You're back home and reading my stories! I missed you reviews and I know you won't read this chapter for quite some time but thanks for sticking to my story!
PED-sarah: Thanks so much for your reviews and suggestions. I appreciate them all.