Disclaimer: Jack Sparrow is still on loan to Disney for Pirates part II, so
he's not mine!
AN: Yes, I'm using my precious spare time to write up another chapter! I hope that people enjoy reading it, because it's the last one you'll see for another week or two. Enjoy!
Chapter 8: Hope:
Three days had passed since the day that Lara had seen Scar in Tortuga, and she was beginning to lose hope of seeing Jack again. She had taken all of the medicine that Emma had given her, and her morning sickness had subsided into something that Thomas thought was a mild case of the flu. Lara was glad that he thought she was just sick and not pregnant. She was afraid that he might try and do something horrible if he found out that she was having Jack's baby.
She sighed as she looked out of the opening of the cave. The sky was so blue, and the water was crystal clear. She wished that she were on the Pearl with Jack's arms around her. She wanted to tell him about the baby and to see his reaction. Now she wondered if their baby would ever live long enough to know who his father was after Thomas found out about it.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Jack slammed his fist on his desk, growling in frustration. They had been searching for over three days, and nothing had turned up. They had searched almost all of the islands around Tortuga, and none of the inhabitants had seen anyone matching Lara or Thomas's description. He quickly scanned the map in front of him, wondering if he had missed an island, but he hadn't. Now time was running out. How was his bonny wife doing with that madman? Was she unharmed? Had that red-coat tried anything with her?
Jack buried his face in his hands. He hadn't felt this upset since his wife had gotten lost in a market place in Spain. He remembered searching frantically for her and, after hours of threatening to hang the crew if they didn't find her, she had finally showed up with Mr. Cotton's parrot on her shoulder and a smile on her face. Jack hadn't even noticed the blasted bird was missing until that moment. After she had come aboard, Jack had taken the parrot off of her shoulder, returned it to Mr. Cotton, then dragged his wife down below for a good scolding (which had quickly turned into something else entirely).
A tap on the door dragged him out of his thoughts.
"Aye, what is it?" he snapped. The door opened and Annamaria peeked in.
"Uh, cap'n?" she said. "The crew's returned from the last island. They've found nothing helpful. Where do we head to next?"
Jack leaned back in his chair and sighed. "We head back to Tortuga," he replied, staring blankly at the map. "Maybe the crew members Mr. Gibbs left there hav' found something."
Annamaria nodded. "Aye, sir, I'll have the crew ready the ship." She hesitated before entering the room and walking up behind Jack. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, cap'n, yer lass is a tough one. She's a survivor, and she won't let that scurvy dog do anything to her." She patted his shoulder before leaving, shutting the door behind her.
Jack sat and stared at the map in front of him. "I hope yer right, Annamaria," he whispered. "If yer not, Mr. Pierce is goin' te have a lot to answer for."
With that last thought, he stood up and headed on deck, intent on finding his wife.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
In Tortuga, Scar was pacing the docks impatiently. He had just met with the other members left ashore, and they had discussed what they had seen since three days before.
The day that they had all spotted Lara, they had all agreed that the Captain's wife was fine, but had looked a bit sickly. Prickly, another crew member, had seen them coming out of a couple shops. After questioning the owners, he'd discovered that they were there looking for a soup mix. The crew had spread out and questioned the other shopkeepers, and had regrouped later, comparing notes. They'd all had a good laugh at the discovery of Mr. Pierce looking all over town for a good soup mix.
The day after, they had questioned all of the doctors in that part of town to see if they had seen anyone matching Lara's description. None had. The day after that, they searched out the herbal women for the same reason, and nothing had turned up. They were quickly losing hope. Prickly had said that they had better start praying if they didn't have anything to tell the Captain when he came back. As the biggest crewman in the group, Scar had told the others to keep their eyes open and search the town. That had been the third day.
Now it was the dawning of the fourth day. Scar was beginning to get angry. He liked Lady Sparrow, as the crew lovingly called her. She was kind to everyone, and had endless patience with the crew. She laughed at their jokes, pitched in with the work, and always kept the crew from doing anything stupid after they had gotten drunk. Despite all that, she still had a ladylike air about her, and that made the crew like, respect, and admire her. It took a strong woman to be married to a pirate, and an even stronger one to stay married to Captain Jack Sparrow and be liked by his ragtag crew.
Lady Sparrow had also been the first person to smile at Scar after he had been taken onboard the Pearl over a year ago. He was a big man, and the scar on his face had made the rest of the crew hesitant to befriend him. He had been surprised when the Captain's bonny wife had come up to him and smiled before offering to show him where he would be staying and what he would be doing onboard. He had followed her around, learning about the ship and what his jobs would be. The biggest shock was when she had called the crew together and introduced all of them to him. After that, Scar had been accepted by the crew and life had been good. Scar owed a great deal to Lady Sparrow, and he'd kill that lunatic if he had hurt her.
Scar absently rubbed the scar on his face that had become his namesake. It occasionally itched or ached when he was angry or upset. Now it was driving him mad. He turned around to head back into town when he saw a woman coming out of a small, crusty door with a bundle of herbs under her arms. Curious, he watched the woman walk away as he walked up to the door and stepped in.
It was packed full of herbs and jars of things he couldn't identify. There was a small old woman behind the counter. She looked up at him and gulped in fear.
"C-can I help you?" she timidly asked.
Scar inwardly sighed. His size always put people off. "My scar itches. Have ye got anythin' fer it, madam?" he asked politely. Lady Sparrow had told him to be nice to people who were afraid of him, especially women. She had said that if he were polite, people would react differently to him.
She was right. The little old woman did a double take before reaching under the counter and pulling out a small jar. She placed it in front of him.
"Here you are," she said, giving him a small smile. "It should help. It's got some powerful medicine in it, so don't use more than a dab on your scar."
Scar nodded. "Thanks," he said. "How much for the jar, madam?"
The old woman smiled kindly at him. "Oh, for a polite pirate like you, about three gold pieces."
Scar inwardly winced, but knew it actually was a bargain. He gave her the coins, then rubbed a bit on his scar. The pain vanished. He blinked in surprise, then grinned at the old woman, who grinned back.
"Nice, isn't it?" she asked. She cocked her head in curiosity. "I have to ask you, how did a big man like you learn such nice manners?"
Scar chuckled. "A lovely lady taught me," he replied. "Me Captain's wife taught us how te act nicely." He frowned. "Pity she's missing," he muttered.
The woman jerked at his words. "Missing? What do you mean she's missing?" she asked, staring at him intently.
Scar looked over at her, debating whether to tell her or not. If he told her, she might be able to keep an eye out for the Lady Sparrow. "Well, the Captain's bonny wife got snatched from our ship over four days ago, and we don't know where she is. We've been looking for her since then, but haven't found anything, except for when she was here about three days ago."
The woman's eyes widened. "Three days ago? Does she have long, dark brown hair, dark brown eyes, and have a Spanish look to her?" she asked.
Now it was Scar's turn to jerk in surprise. "You've seen her? Where? Was she here?" he asked, frantic for any news for his friend.
The woman nodded. "Yes, she was here. She was feeling a bit under the weather, so I gave her some herbs to take in soup." She seemed to hesitate to say more.
Scar frowned. "Are you not telling me something?" he asked, leaning over the counter.
The woman swallowed hard. "No. Well, not really. There's something you should know, but only she can tell you. It's not my place." She backed away from him.
Scar leaned forward even more, towering over the woman's small form, even over the counter. "Madam, this woman is very important to my Captain and the crew. You don't want to anger the crew of the Black Pearl, now, do you?"
The woman looked like she was about to faint. "The Black Pearl? You mean she's the wife of Captain Jack Sparrow?" Scar nodded. She swallowed even harder. "Well, she's being held by some sort of man who claims to be her fiancé," she babbled. "She didn't look hurt or seemed harmed in any way, but she's with child, so-"
Scar's eyes widened. "She's with child?" he asked. "Are you sure?" The woman nodded frantically. Scar mulled that over before reaching into his belt. The woman backed away in fear before Scar dumped four gold coins on the desk. "This is for the information you've given," he said. "You don't know how much this means to us." He took the medicine and left the store, leaving the old woman behind.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Emma stared after the man for a few moments before looking at the coins he had left. She didn't feel right about accepting the money, especially when she hadn't told him much in the first place. She only hoped that she would be able to do something more for that poor woman someday.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
AN: Short chapter, but that's all I can squeeze out from my brain while panicking about mid-terms. As soon as mid-terms are over, I'll update. Please review and make me happy while I study! Thanks!
AN: Yes, I'm using my precious spare time to write up another chapter! I hope that people enjoy reading it, because it's the last one you'll see for another week or two. Enjoy!
Chapter 8: Hope:
Three days had passed since the day that Lara had seen Scar in Tortuga, and she was beginning to lose hope of seeing Jack again. She had taken all of the medicine that Emma had given her, and her morning sickness had subsided into something that Thomas thought was a mild case of the flu. Lara was glad that he thought she was just sick and not pregnant. She was afraid that he might try and do something horrible if he found out that she was having Jack's baby.
She sighed as she looked out of the opening of the cave. The sky was so blue, and the water was crystal clear. She wished that she were on the Pearl with Jack's arms around her. She wanted to tell him about the baby and to see his reaction. Now she wondered if their baby would ever live long enough to know who his father was after Thomas found out about it.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Jack slammed his fist on his desk, growling in frustration. They had been searching for over three days, and nothing had turned up. They had searched almost all of the islands around Tortuga, and none of the inhabitants had seen anyone matching Lara or Thomas's description. He quickly scanned the map in front of him, wondering if he had missed an island, but he hadn't. Now time was running out. How was his bonny wife doing with that madman? Was she unharmed? Had that red-coat tried anything with her?
Jack buried his face in his hands. He hadn't felt this upset since his wife had gotten lost in a market place in Spain. He remembered searching frantically for her and, after hours of threatening to hang the crew if they didn't find her, she had finally showed up with Mr. Cotton's parrot on her shoulder and a smile on her face. Jack hadn't even noticed the blasted bird was missing until that moment. After she had come aboard, Jack had taken the parrot off of her shoulder, returned it to Mr. Cotton, then dragged his wife down below for a good scolding (which had quickly turned into something else entirely).
A tap on the door dragged him out of his thoughts.
"Aye, what is it?" he snapped. The door opened and Annamaria peeked in.
"Uh, cap'n?" she said. "The crew's returned from the last island. They've found nothing helpful. Where do we head to next?"
Jack leaned back in his chair and sighed. "We head back to Tortuga," he replied, staring blankly at the map. "Maybe the crew members Mr. Gibbs left there hav' found something."
Annamaria nodded. "Aye, sir, I'll have the crew ready the ship." She hesitated before entering the room and walking up behind Jack. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, cap'n, yer lass is a tough one. She's a survivor, and she won't let that scurvy dog do anything to her." She patted his shoulder before leaving, shutting the door behind her.
Jack sat and stared at the map in front of him. "I hope yer right, Annamaria," he whispered. "If yer not, Mr. Pierce is goin' te have a lot to answer for."
With that last thought, he stood up and headed on deck, intent on finding his wife.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
In Tortuga, Scar was pacing the docks impatiently. He had just met with the other members left ashore, and they had discussed what they had seen since three days before.
The day that they had all spotted Lara, they had all agreed that the Captain's wife was fine, but had looked a bit sickly. Prickly, another crew member, had seen them coming out of a couple shops. After questioning the owners, he'd discovered that they were there looking for a soup mix. The crew had spread out and questioned the other shopkeepers, and had regrouped later, comparing notes. They'd all had a good laugh at the discovery of Mr. Pierce looking all over town for a good soup mix.
The day after, they had questioned all of the doctors in that part of town to see if they had seen anyone matching Lara's description. None had. The day after that, they searched out the herbal women for the same reason, and nothing had turned up. They were quickly losing hope. Prickly had said that they had better start praying if they didn't have anything to tell the Captain when he came back. As the biggest crewman in the group, Scar had told the others to keep their eyes open and search the town. That had been the third day.
Now it was the dawning of the fourth day. Scar was beginning to get angry. He liked Lady Sparrow, as the crew lovingly called her. She was kind to everyone, and had endless patience with the crew. She laughed at their jokes, pitched in with the work, and always kept the crew from doing anything stupid after they had gotten drunk. Despite all that, she still had a ladylike air about her, and that made the crew like, respect, and admire her. It took a strong woman to be married to a pirate, and an even stronger one to stay married to Captain Jack Sparrow and be liked by his ragtag crew.
Lady Sparrow had also been the first person to smile at Scar after he had been taken onboard the Pearl over a year ago. He was a big man, and the scar on his face had made the rest of the crew hesitant to befriend him. He had been surprised when the Captain's bonny wife had come up to him and smiled before offering to show him where he would be staying and what he would be doing onboard. He had followed her around, learning about the ship and what his jobs would be. The biggest shock was when she had called the crew together and introduced all of them to him. After that, Scar had been accepted by the crew and life had been good. Scar owed a great deal to Lady Sparrow, and he'd kill that lunatic if he had hurt her.
Scar absently rubbed the scar on his face that had become his namesake. It occasionally itched or ached when he was angry or upset. Now it was driving him mad. He turned around to head back into town when he saw a woman coming out of a small, crusty door with a bundle of herbs under her arms. Curious, he watched the woman walk away as he walked up to the door and stepped in.
It was packed full of herbs and jars of things he couldn't identify. There was a small old woman behind the counter. She looked up at him and gulped in fear.
"C-can I help you?" she timidly asked.
Scar inwardly sighed. His size always put people off. "My scar itches. Have ye got anythin' fer it, madam?" he asked politely. Lady Sparrow had told him to be nice to people who were afraid of him, especially women. She had said that if he were polite, people would react differently to him.
She was right. The little old woman did a double take before reaching under the counter and pulling out a small jar. She placed it in front of him.
"Here you are," she said, giving him a small smile. "It should help. It's got some powerful medicine in it, so don't use more than a dab on your scar."
Scar nodded. "Thanks," he said. "How much for the jar, madam?"
The old woman smiled kindly at him. "Oh, for a polite pirate like you, about three gold pieces."
Scar inwardly winced, but knew it actually was a bargain. He gave her the coins, then rubbed a bit on his scar. The pain vanished. He blinked in surprise, then grinned at the old woman, who grinned back.
"Nice, isn't it?" she asked. She cocked her head in curiosity. "I have to ask you, how did a big man like you learn such nice manners?"
Scar chuckled. "A lovely lady taught me," he replied. "Me Captain's wife taught us how te act nicely." He frowned. "Pity she's missing," he muttered.
The woman jerked at his words. "Missing? What do you mean she's missing?" she asked, staring at him intently.
Scar looked over at her, debating whether to tell her or not. If he told her, she might be able to keep an eye out for the Lady Sparrow. "Well, the Captain's bonny wife got snatched from our ship over four days ago, and we don't know where she is. We've been looking for her since then, but haven't found anything, except for when she was here about three days ago."
The woman's eyes widened. "Three days ago? Does she have long, dark brown hair, dark brown eyes, and have a Spanish look to her?" she asked.
Now it was Scar's turn to jerk in surprise. "You've seen her? Where? Was she here?" he asked, frantic for any news for his friend.
The woman nodded. "Yes, she was here. She was feeling a bit under the weather, so I gave her some herbs to take in soup." She seemed to hesitate to say more.
Scar frowned. "Are you not telling me something?" he asked, leaning over the counter.
The woman swallowed hard. "No. Well, not really. There's something you should know, but only she can tell you. It's not my place." She backed away from him.
Scar leaned forward even more, towering over the woman's small form, even over the counter. "Madam, this woman is very important to my Captain and the crew. You don't want to anger the crew of the Black Pearl, now, do you?"
The woman looked like she was about to faint. "The Black Pearl? You mean she's the wife of Captain Jack Sparrow?" Scar nodded. She swallowed even harder. "Well, she's being held by some sort of man who claims to be her fiancé," she babbled. "She didn't look hurt or seemed harmed in any way, but she's with child, so-"
Scar's eyes widened. "She's with child?" he asked. "Are you sure?" The woman nodded frantically. Scar mulled that over before reaching into his belt. The woman backed away in fear before Scar dumped four gold coins on the desk. "This is for the information you've given," he said. "You don't know how much this means to us." He took the medicine and left the store, leaving the old woman behind.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Emma stared after the man for a few moments before looking at the coins he had left. She didn't feel right about accepting the money, especially when she hadn't told him much in the first place. She only hoped that she would be able to do something more for that poor woman someday.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
AN: Short chapter, but that's all I can squeeze out from my brain while panicking about mid-terms. As soon as mid-terms are over, I'll update. Please review and make me happy while I study! Thanks!