Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, they're owned by Disney and others. Though I do wish I owned Mr. Sparrow. ::evil grin::
Warning: Rated R for different reasons. Please make sure you are mature enough to handle this type of content.
To Reviewers/Readers: Thanks for reading and/or reviewing! Sorry about the short chapters; I try to use one major event each chapter. Sorry, but that's the only way the chapters really fit. It's good though in a way, because it means it takes less time for me to update. =) Chapters will get somewhat longer as we go on.
Randomblossem: Hey, you promised me my Jack! I want my Jack, now! *cries* I've updated! Grrrr! I'm going off to find him myself and won't have time to update, unless you've found him for me by now? I hope you have, I wouldn't want to delay updating or anything…
Sage32: Hehe, now you don't have to!
Beau Porteur De Diamant: Anything with Jack Sparrow on top sounds good *evil grin*, so sure, here's your update!
Spoken: I updated, lass!
Onto chapter nine!
Chapter 9: Conflict
A thousand things ran through Will's mind at that moment. He was supposed to transfer ships tomorrow, his father had suddenly walked into his life when everyone had though him dead, his wife was pregnant, and he was going to be a father himself soon! Elizabeth definitely wouldn't be able to transfer ships now; it would be impossible for her to go through delivery without Anamaria, or even any other woman for that matter.
Realizing he hadn't reacted to Elizabeth's news and she was staring at him funny because of it, he quickly broke into a huge smile, "That's… that's great!"
This wasn't right, and Will knew it. He knew right about then he should have been ecstatic with the thought that Elizabeth was having his child. He should have been sweeping her off her feet and carrying her lovingly to their cabin under-deck; where they'd do their very best to celebrate. He should not be stressed and confused. This wasn't right.
Noticing Will's obvious uneasiness by the way his smile didn't really reach his eyes, she pulled back from his embrace and looked at his face, hurt. "Something's wrong," she said, "Will, what's wrong?" She was on the verge of tears. This wasn't right.
"Elizabeth, dear, I love you… but I must tell you my news." She burst out crying, being very hormonal and overly emotional due to her condition. He embraced her tightly and then helped her sit down on the deck stairs. He held both her hands and started.
"Elizabeth, I talked to my father this morning. I was out with him, and then I went to the flower shop. He wants you and me to sail with him and he wants my answer by tonight. Since you're pregnant, you can't afford to switch ships. You'll need Anamaria to help you deliver and to help you through some of the pregnancy. I must stay with you."
"You can't."
"I can and I need to! That's our child growing inside of you! There's no way I could leave you, even for one quick raid with my father!"
Elizabeth sat up straight and attempted to help compose herself. Her face was streaked with tears, but she managed to adopt the most serious expression as she spoke. "Will, you have to go with your father. You've never had the opportunity to even get to know him, and now that you have the opportunity, you must take it. I'm not going to let myself stand in your way. You're going, or I shall make a point to never ever speak to you again. It won't be too long; you said yourself you can't stay away, so we'll work out that somehow the ships can meet in a few months." She bit her lip as it quivered, trying to keep her expression blank.
"But… but…Elizabeth! You can't be serious! You know that-" He looked her in the eyes. She was serious. Oh Lord, there would be no fighting; he'd already lost.
He slouched, defeated. "I'll go tell Jack that I'll be leaving then. We'll arrange to meet the ships somewhere in a few months. Only a few! Definitely before you have the baby, I want to be there. You have to let me, and I won't take no for an answer; that's my child! I want to spend the rest of the time I have here with you, will you please wait for me in the cabin? Only if you want to, that is."
"Of course I will, don't make me wait to long though; I need all of you now."
* * *
"Bloody hell, mate!" Jack exclaimed, "You're leaving for a few months and are not taking your wife? What in hell are you thinking, lad?!"
"I'm not."
"You've made that obvious!" Jack snorted.
"Jack, she's forcing me to! I don't want to but she's refused to speak to me again if I don't!"
"Well, lad, why can't you take her with you?" Jack inquired sarcastically, as if the thought had never even occurred to Will and that it was the most obvious solution to his dilemma.
"Because she's pregnant!" Will burst out; he hated when Jack made him feel inferior with his stupid sarcasm.
Jack turned around and in his weird drunken stagger and stared at Will, "She is?" Jack looked as if he didn't believe Will at all, which was unusual, since he usually masked anything he felt absurdly well.
"Yes, so she can't transfer ships with me; she needs Anamaria or at least another female for delivery and help through the pregnancy in case anything goes wrong. And she won't let me stay."
"Will," Jack said, walking towards the younger man in that drunken way of his, have you realized that you're going to be a father?"
"Of course, Jack! I've proved to you before that I wasn't a simpleton, don't treat me like I'm one! It's positively infuriating!"
Jack wasn't phased by Will's small outburst and simply continued his conversation. "Do you also realize that Elizabeth is going to go through all the woes of pregnancy without you?" he questioned, raising his eyebrow at Will.
"Yes," he sighed, annoyed, "but she's forcing me to leave, says I have to take the opportunity to know my father. It'd only be a few months; I refuse to miss my son or daughters birth. The ships could meet somewhere after a bit, couldn't they?"
"Yes, they could, but Will, you honestly can't talk her out of this?"
"Why try? She'd get mad and then proceed to blame herself."
"You should at least try, lad!" Jack shouted.
"I'm just going to spend the rest of the time I have here with her." Will stalked off to his cabin, leaving a very disturbed Jack behind.
Jack tried to mask his confusion and anger, but couldn't as he looked at the steering wheel and sighed. Will and Elizabeth would be lost if Will left her and went off pillaging with old Bill. He knew what happened when men without women went out by themselves in places that Bill would raid, places like Tortuga. He'd seen it happen before. It'd happened to him, but that was a story for another time. All he knew was he could never do it again. He'd kill himself if he did. Not many people knew that the dishonest Captain had a soul, or morals, but then again, there were a lot of things people didn't know about him. Besides, it was too easy to deceive people, all he had needed to do was get a couple of cheap whores every once in a while and people would think he was the scum he often pretended to be.
He pitied Elizabeth. She was about to have her poor heart broken, cut out, and shredded into tiny pieces, one small cut at a time.
Getting angry, Jack hit the railing hard with his rum bottle, causing the bottle to shatter and spray all over him. Now drenched, he yelled at one of the crew to clean it up. Why did Will have to leave the poor thing? Argh!
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A/N: Ah, the plot is heating up with some of the best parts to come! The genre may switch from humor to drama… or…ack! Who knows? It could go either way, humor or drama, maybe some mixed. You'll like it or you won't but hey, that's not my decision! There are also a few somewhat hidden clues that will possibly foreshadow something to come, but I'm not telling what!
As always, the sooner you review, the sooner I update! I'm also writing another POTC fic called The Compass [PG-13 and rating may go up] and it only has one review so far. =( I'm focusing on getting some more reviews on that one before updating this one, so it would be a GREAT help if you could check out that one too if you get a minute. Once again, positive or negative feedback is appreciated, but please don't let it be mindless praise* or pointless flaming.
*= The phrase mindless praise was taken from Liz P., she deserves all credit. =)