Chapter 2
Jack Sparrow leaned on the wheel of his fabulous ship, the Black Pearl, and looked out across the vast ocean. The rolling waves, that not- so-definitive horizon, the cloud-streaked sky. Everything he so loved was here. All he ever needed in life was a deck to Captain and blue-green waters to sail upon; Jack had known it since birth. He was born upon a ship not too much unlike this one, beautiful and dangerous as he was. He allowed himself a small smile as he watched his loyal crew laboring lightly on the ship's main deck. The wind was perfect, and spirits were high. Thoughts of his past would come back to him on days like these, and he let them.
* * * * * * * * * *
"Captain!" said the doctor as he came up from below, a worried look pasted upon his face. "I don't think she's going to make it. Her fever is dangerous, and land is nowhere near. I don't know what to do now; I've done as much as I can." The Captain's already worried face became even more so, the wrinkles on his face deepening. His mind wandered for a moment, until he became aware of the entire crew looking at him expectantly. He regathered his wits and did his best to smile.
"Your best is all I ask for, Thomas. And I have no doubt that you are doing just so. We will double our efforts here, and hope for the best. Right, boys?" The crew let out heartfelt 'aye's and rushed to tighten ropes and stretch sails. The Captain knew that they would do their utmost to speed the ship along, though they couldn't do much more than they already had. Time was running out.
* * * * * * * * * *
Sunlight glinted of the waves just then, and Sparrow's train of thought was momentarily interrupted. The wind had changed slightly, and he compensated for it perfectly. He had determined the bearings of the island he had been searching for from ancient maps he had 'borrowed' from Captain Morales. The bearings for what he thought to be the greatest treasure any Pirate would ever claim.
Piracy. Even the mention of that word made him smile. For some people, piracy was a vicious crime; a path only the treacherous, treasonous, and evil would dare take. There were many who could kill a pirate without thinking twice, and enjoy doing so. But to Jack Sparrow, piracy was the only path. Not because he enjoyed the evils, because in no way did he ever see it as evil, but because that's what he was at heart. It was an adventure every time he left port. The feeling Jack Sparrow got when the sails would open for the first time after debarking, when the wind would fill them like the breath of the gods.nothing in the world compared. It was his hearts way of telling Jack that he was truly free.
Piracy was not evil. It was not criminal. It was what told him he was alive.
* * * * * * * * * *
The sailor known as Thomas came from below some time later, blood upon his hands. "She's slipping away fast, now, Captain. It will only be a short matter of time." He placed his hand upon the Captain's shoulder. "It's time. You can go see her, say goodbye." The Captain's heart sank.
"I assume there's nothing else to do." Thomas shook his head.
"Not unless you have some sort of medicine in your coat. And I know you do not."
"How is the child?" asked the Captain concernedly.
"All right, sir, except." Thomas struggled uncomfortably. "Well, it's a newborn sir, and we don't have milk onboard, if you understand me, sir. We're days from any port, and we ain't got nothing to feed it." The Captain nodded.
"Thank you, Thomas. From the bottom of my soul, thank you." With that said, the Captain went below to see his wife and child. She lay on a bed of cotton; the child lay upon her breast. She looked up at him weakly and smiled. The Captain met her gaze and held it. His head sank, and he went to his knees beside her.
"I'm so sorry," he wept. "I'm so very sorry." She reached up to touch his face.
"It's okay, my love," she whispered. "The baby came early. You could not have known. Not any angel of heaven could have known. I do not blame you."
"But the child.without you, it cannot eat. What am I to do? How do I save him?" Her eyes moved to the newborn, and rested there. She did not immediately speak, but when she did she gave no answer.
"Isn't he lovely?" she cooed. "I have named him after the most wonderful man in the world." The Captain looked down at his child as she continued. "His name will be Jack. The name is strong, just like his father. He will hold on. His mother will see to that, whether she draws breath on this earth or not."
The Captain shared a long moment in silence with his small family, and they both wept softly. He was about to speak when a call came from above. A call that chilled his blood and renewed all fears that might have been laid aside for the moment.
Pirates. Moving into position to attack the ship. All hopes of life for his wife and child were all but lost. What was he to do?
* * * * * * * * * * *
"The day's a good one." Said Barbossa as he came up to Jack's side. Jack, his thought interrupted again, looked over at him for a moment, then back to the ocean.
"Aye, it is that." Agreed Sparrow. He repeated it to himself quietly. "It is that." Barbossa followed Jack's gaze out over the waters.
"I've been meanin' to ask ya.all things are even and trusted between us, agreed?" his tone was soft and genuine. Jack shrugged.
"Of course, mate. Everything is square and fair. What's the question?" Barbossa leaned upon the railing, his oily black hair blowing in the breeze.
"It's killin' me, Jack. I need to know what's going on, where we're headin'. I can't direct lost sailors like you. Bein' First Mate is harder than I reckoned. All I ask is for the bearins. I need to know to chart and direct; it'll only serve to your advantage. I figure if all is trusted between us, there's no reason to be keepin' it to yourself. After all, we'll all be rich men in a few weeks." Barbossa laughed then, a true and deep laugh. Jack looked over and smiled in return.
"All right, mate. I'll be down in a while." Barbossa nodded and went back to his duties. Jack felt in his heart that he couldn't get a better crew, and telling them the details of the rewards they would receive wouldn't hurt anything.
After all, they were all Pirates. And damn good men.
* * * * * * * * * * *
The Captain ordered the ship's Standard be raised fully, and he stood upon the bow of his ship like a sentinel, Proud and Strong. If he and his men, his family, were to fall to Pirates, they would not die without valor. The cannons were loaded, muskets and pistols made ready. But as the enemy ship came into range, he did not give the command to fire. His men looked up at him nervously, but he gave no signal. He just stood, out in the open, and looked across the gap, his eyes full of pain and sorrow.
The pirate Captain saw him there, standing tall and strong. His eyes pierced the Pirate's soul like no other ever had, and the Enemy Captain could not give the order to fire, either. It was against the code to fire upon surrendered prey. But the white flag hadn't been raised! What were they doing?
Boarding hooks were thrown onto the deck of Captain Sparrow's ship, and the two boats were drawn together. Captain Sparrow had moved to the side railing, and as the ships came together with a low boom, the two Captains found each other face to face, with naught but railings between them. Neither crew dared to attack without an order, and none wan given. Sparrow's heart seemed to freeze in his chest as he beheld his enemy; his very breath halted. This was a thing absolutely unheard of.
She was a woman.
And she looked to be pregnant.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Jack knew that fortune had always been on his side. His adopted mother had told him everything just before she left him at Tortuga at the age of eight. He knew about his real father; he had even attended his funeral when he learned of it. He was a member of the Royal Navy and was unfortunately killed in action. Jack had never known him.
Jack shook his head clear of the past and realized the sun was beginning to sink. He surrendered the wheel to his trusty helmsman and went to his quarters. Barbossa sat in his favorite chair, and was eating an apple. He immediately put it aside and smiled when Sparrow entered.
"Hello, Jack!" he stood up and walked to the course maps. "About those bearins'."
Jack Sparrow leaned on the wheel of his fabulous ship, the Black Pearl, and looked out across the vast ocean. The rolling waves, that not- so-definitive horizon, the cloud-streaked sky. Everything he so loved was here. All he ever needed in life was a deck to Captain and blue-green waters to sail upon; Jack had known it since birth. He was born upon a ship not too much unlike this one, beautiful and dangerous as he was. He allowed himself a small smile as he watched his loyal crew laboring lightly on the ship's main deck. The wind was perfect, and spirits were high. Thoughts of his past would come back to him on days like these, and he let them.
* * * * * * * * * *
"Captain!" said the doctor as he came up from below, a worried look pasted upon his face. "I don't think she's going to make it. Her fever is dangerous, and land is nowhere near. I don't know what to do now; I've done as much as I can." The Captain's already worried face became even more so, the wrinkles on his face deepening. His mind wandered for a moment, until he became aware of the entire crew looking at him expectantly. He regathered his wits and did his best to smile.
"Your best is all I ask for, Thomas. And I have no doubt that you are doing just so. We will double our efforts here, and hope for the best. Right, boys?" The crew let out heartfelt 'aye's and rushed to tighten ropes and stretch sails. The Captain knew that they would do their utmost to speed the ship along, though they couldn't do much more than they already had. Time was running out.
* * * * * * * * * *
Sunlight glinted of the waves just then, and Sparrow's train of thought was momentarily interrupted. The wind had changed slightly, and he compensated for it perfectly. He had determined the bearings of the island he had been searching for from ancient maps he had 'borrowed' from Captain Morales. The bearings for what he thought to be the greatest treasure any Pirate would ever claim.
Piracy. Even the mention of that word made him smile. For some people, piracy was a vicious crime; a path only the treacherous, treasonous, and evil would dare take. There were many who could kill a pirate without thinking twice, and enjoy doing so. But to Jack Sparrow, piracy was the only path. Not because he enjoyed the evils, because in no way did he ever see it as evil, but because that's what he was at heart. It was an adventure every time he left port. The feeling Jack Sparrow got when the sails would open for the first time after debarking, when the wind would fill them like the breath of the gods.nothing in the world compared. It was his hearts way of telling Jack that he was truly free.
Piracy was not evil. It was not criminal. It was what told him he was alive.
* * * * * * * * * *
The sailor known as Thomas came from below some time later, blood upon his hands. "She's slipping away fast, now, Captain. It will only be a short matter of time." He placed his hand upon the Captain's shoulder. "It's time. You can go see her, say goodbye." The Captain's heart sank.
"I assume there's nothing else to do." Thomas shook his head.
"Not unless you have some sort of medicine in your coat. And I know you do not."
"How is the child?" asked the Captain concernedly.
"All right, sir, except." Thomas struggled uncomfortably. "Well, it's a newborn sir, and we don't have milk onboard, if you understand me, sir. We're days from any port, and we ain't got nothing to feed it." The Captain nodded.
"Thank you, Thomas. From the bottom of my soul, thank you." With that said, the Captain went below to see his wife and child. She lay on a bed of cotton; the child lay upon her breast. She looked up at him weakly and smiled. The Captain met her gaze and held it. His head sank, and he went to his knees beside her.
"I'm so sorry," he wept. "I'm so very sorry." She reached up to touch his face.
"It's okay, my love," she whispered. "The baby came early. You could not have known. Not any angel of heaven could have known. I do not blame you."
"But the child.without you, it cannot eat. What am I to do? How do I save him?" Her eyes moved to the newborn, and rested there. She did not immediately speak, but when she did she gave no answer.
"Isn't he lovely?" she cooed. "I have named him after the most wonderful man in the world." The Captain looked down at his child as she continued. "His name will be Jack. The name is strong, just like his father. He will hold on. His mother will see to that, whether she draws breath on this earth or not."
The Captain shared a long moment in silence with his small family, and they both wept softly. He was about to speak when a call came from above. A call that chilled his blood and renewed all fears that might have been laid aside for the moment.
Pirates. Moving into position to attack the ship. All hopes of life for his wife and child were all but lost. What was he to do?
* * * * * * * * * * *
"The day's a good one." Said Barbossa as he came up to Jack's side. Jack, his thought interrupted again, looked over at him for a moment, then back to the ocean.
"Aye, it is that." Agreed Sparrow. He repeated it to himself quietly. "It is that." Barbossa followed Jack's gaze out over the waters.
"I've been meanin' to ask ya.all things are even and trusted between us, agreed?" his tone was soft and genuine. Jack shrugged.
"Of course, mate. Everything is square and fair. What's the question?" Barbossa leaned upon the railing, his oily black hair blowing in the breeze.
"It's killin' me, Jack. I need to know what's going on, where we're headin'. I can't direct lost sailors like you. Bein' First Mate is harder than I reckoned. All I ask is for the bearins. I need to know to chart and direct; it'll only serve to your advantage. I figure if all is trusted between us, there's no reason to be keepin' it to yourself. After all, we'll all be rich men in a few weeks." Barbossa laughed then, a true and deep laugh. Jack looked over and smiled in return.
"All right, mate. I'll be down in a while." Barbossa nodded and went back to his duties. Jack felt in his heart that he couldn't get a better crew, and telling them the details of the rewards they would receive wouldn't hurt anything.
After all, they were all Pirates. And damn good men.
* * * * * * * * * * *
The Captain ordered the ship's Standard be raised fully, and he stood upon the bow of his ship like a sentinel, Proud and Strong. If he and his men, his family, were to fall to Pirates, they would not die without valor. The cannons were loaded, muskets and pistols made ready. But as the enemy ship came into range, he did not give the command to fire. His men looked up at him nervously, but he gave no signal. He just stood, out in the open, and looked across the gap, his eyes full of pain and sorrow.
The pirate Captain saw him there, standing tall and strong. His eyes pierced the Pirate's soul like no other ever had, and the Enemy Captain could not give the order to fire, either. It was against the code to fire upon surrendered prey. But the white flag hadn't been raised! What were they doing?
Boarding hooks were thrown onto the deck of Captain Sparrow's ship, and the two boats were drawn together. Captain Sparrow had moved to the side railing, and as the ships came together with a low boom, the two Captains found each other face to face, with naught but railings between them. Neither crew dared to attack without an order, and none wan given. Sparrow's heart seemed to freeze in his chest as he beheld his enemy; his very breath halted. This was a thing absolutely unheard of.
She was a woman.
And she looked to be pregnant.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Jack knew that fortune had always been on his side. His adopted mother had told him everything just before she left him at Tortuga at the age of eight. He knew about his real father; he had even attended his funeral when he learned of it. He was a member of the Royal Navy and was unfortunately killed in action. Jack had never known him.
Jack shook his head clear of the past and realized the sun was beginning to sink. He surrendered the wheel to his trusty helmsman and went to his quarters. Barbossa sat in his favorite chair, and was eating an apple. He immediately put it aside and smiled when Sparrow entered.
"Hello, Jack!" he stood up and walked to the course maps. "About those bearins'."