Author's Note 1: just a reminder I got from a recent review. If you spot any humungous inaccuracies, or historical errors, or just have some suggestions about how to make the language more instep with the times, go ahead and let me know. I've done maybe an hour of research to do this, and I make no promises to be correct in everything I say. I am more than willing to fix things, as long as it won't take me hours or cause me to need to rewrite most of the fic. : ) Love constructive criticism. It's what made 'Inconvenient' the fic it was.
A/N2: sorry this took a bit, but I really had to figure out where I was going with all this, not to mention Tuesday and Wednesday are two of my busiest days. So enjoy this and I will try to get the next chapter up before Monday – which should be completely plausible. And possible. And probably. Stop reading my rambles, and read the fic already!
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End of the last chapter before the last Interlude:
"The Pearl is near destroyed, her captain lost." Anger laced the female pirate's words.
All three people watched a small tremor work its way through Winn's body, watched her mouth open and close helplessly and silently, and jumped forward as the woman slumped to the floor, unable to support herself under the weight of this news.
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"No. No, you can't be dead. You promised. You promised." Contrary to popular belief, Winn had not fainted. Become so overwhelmed that all physical strength had fled her, yes, but she did not faint. Briefly she looked upon this achievement with a distant kind of pride, but her mind was too busy blocking out the sea of emotions caused by the phrase "her captain lost," to rejoice in the fact.
Huddled on her knees in the doorway, she started rocking herself back and forth trying to contain hysteria. She had known. She had known it was dangerous. She had known he was in danger. Why did you have to go? Why? When tears started to trail down her face she told herself, Stop it. You don't have any energy to waste right now. Keep it together, find out more. There has to be more. Don't fall apart yet. You can't fall apart until you know the whole story. You're a captain's wife, a pirate captain's wife. Start acting like it.
Morgan, Gibbs, Anamaria, and a recently arrived Cat watched the woman as she mumbled to herself, worried that perhaps the sudden news had snapped her wit. But just as Cat had collected enough daring to approach the hurting woman, Winn gathered her own strength and nerve and stood up. Her face was free of any emotion, a single tear still trailing down her face the only sign of her distress – that and the periodic shivers that wracked her body. Somehow this lack of expression was even worse than seeing the woman in a huddle of grief and loss. More chilling.
Focusing in on the two messengers with opaque eyes, Winn asked, "What happened? I assume there was an ambush?" The two people from her husband's crew looked at each other. Deciding that Gibbs probably had more tact than she did, Anamaria nodded to him, indicating that he should take up the tale.
"Aye, miss. But let me start from the beginning."
* * * * *
After having successfully tracked down Stephanopoulos and after having resolved important philosophical differences with the man, Jack and his crew had gotten the information they needed. Gandolfi was tucked away on a private estate in the Exuma Cays, a small chain of islands within the Bahamas. It wasn't an estate that Gandolfi owned, but rather one that belonged to one of his merchant cronies who happened to have won the island from a drunken Englishman in a card game. It was a perfect place to conduct plans of revenge from; isolated and surrounded by numerous islands.
Knowing that the man couldn't be so foolish as to be alone on the island, knowing that he had to have hired some kind of protection, Jack made his plans. They'd sail as close as they dare in daylight, and then wait through the night until the moon rose. It was nearing full, and if they were very careful, they should be able to come up to the island undetected. Then they would raid the place, the crew would plunder what they could, and Jack would settle accounts with the Italian. Simple enough to do and say, harder to succeed.
It had been near two in the morning before the Pearl had enough light from the moon to inch forward, several men placed on lookout for coral reefs, submerged rocks, or simply shallow water. As they were rounding the last point before coming in sight of the manor and the surrounding estates, they had received an unpleasant surprise – somehow word had gotten to Gandolfi that they were coming, and he had been prepared. More prepared than any landsman had a right to be. There had been two ships waiting for them, and a third hidden behind a headland waiting to block them in.
The Pearl and her crew had fought tenaciously, managing to hold off two of the ships and inflicting enough damage to the third to keep it from being a further threat, but they had been outmanned, outgunned, and outmaneuvered. Their luck did not hold. The Pearl took more cannon balls to her hull than she had stored on the gun deck. There had been no way for them to resist a boarding party, but they did try. Gandolfi didn't manage to win a clean victory or a cheap one – many of his men fell to the pirates. Unfortunately, the pirates also lost crewmen. Crewmen who had seen what others hadn't – most of the enemy was trying to get to the captain.
Jack was furious with himself for not scouting out the area first, for not heeding Winn's warnings that it just might be possible for him to neglect some minor detail, for being so caught up in his anger that he'd overlooked something some crucial point. Yes, he loved his wife, and yes, she did tend to be an argumentative nag at times, but she always managed to catch the things he missed. "We're partners in this Jack . . . ." Blast the woman for being right this time.
As he was musing over this point, he was caught off guard by a pistol butt to the back of the head. The sounds of clanging swords and firing pistols had covered up the approach of the man behind him. His last conscious thought had been that this man had no idea how to fight fairly, which was a major concession coming from a pirate who had lived his life fighting unfairly.
When Jack had fallen to the deck, a pistol pointed at him, the rest of the crew had reluctantly surrendered, expecting to be rounded up and taken into some sort of custody. They weren't. Instead they were forced to watch as their captain had been ingloriously carted to what was obviously this small fleet's flagship. It was disgusting, they thought with burning righteousness, how this man flaunted the honor of a pirate. To simply attack a man while his back was turned – it wasn't right. Even pirates had a sense of fair play, even if they often disregarded it.
Had they been in any condition to fight any longer, they would have put the fear of sea into this man who defied all the rules of naval warfare. But they weren't. Neither crew nor ship were in any condition to do anything other than watch the two able ships sail away with their captain and dread the knowledge that one of them was going to have to break the news to his lady.
* * * * *
He was alive. They took him alive. Not dead. Relief was a cold comfort to Winn. Right now the only comfort that could warm her was either the arms of her husband or the blood of the man who had taken him. He must hate the situation more than I do, to be stripped of rank and dignity like that. "What happened to the Pearl?" She knew they were all surprised by the question, knew that they thought she should be more concerned with making plans to regain her spouse. And she was, but she also knew that Jack's first question after "What in all the levels of heaven and hell are you doing here?" was going to be "How's my ship?" She intended to be able to tell him.
After staring at her for what was nearly an indecent amount of time, Gibbs replied, "We managed to sail her to Wright Cape . . . ."
"That's in the Ragged Island Range?" Winn became aware that she was sitting in a chair with a dog's head resting on her knee and a hand resting on her shoulder. She turned to find whom it belonged to. Ry. That's how they got here, she thought dazedly. Looking back to Gibbs, she saw her grandfather had taken his seat behind his desk and that Marty had taken a position by his shoulder, preening contentedly. "That's an island known for it's shipwrights, correct?"
"Aye."
Winn nodded, trying to get her mind to function, to get the gears in her head to stop grinding against each other. Collapse later – I need to be able to think right now. Clear head. Can't feel, can't feel. It hurts but I can't feel it. "Is she salvageable? Or is she driftwood?"
"We spoke to Basil Cuthbert, the head of the shipwright's guild there. In fact, that's where most of the crew be."
When Gibbs offered no further explanation, Winn shook her head in a manner than implied that she was clearly awaiting more information. "What did he say? Can she be repaired?"
"Aye, given several months and several hundred pounds. And possibly your firstborn child, but we didn't finish negotiations. Anamaria and I thought it would be best to talk things over wi' ye first."
Shaking her head, Winn suggested, "What if we merely gave him the run of the crew to speed things along?"
"The men are sailors, not carpenters."
"Yes, but they all know something about making repairs on ships. If they didn't, they'd be hard pressed to find jobs."
"We're not talking about simple repairs, landlubber." Winn switched her gaze from Gibbs to the practical woman. "We're talking about what amounts to a complete overhaul. Not to mention that pirates usually aren't known for staying in one place for long, unless otherwise forced to."
Rubbing her forehead, the first sign of emotion she had since she had decided to deal with this with the dignity befitting a pirate lass, Winn said, "True as that may be, the men would be able to help. We'd pay them, and any who wish to leave will be allowed to – with the understanding that once they leave, they need not expect to be given back their positions."
"And where are we to get this money, Mistress Sparrow? It's not as if pirates set aside money for such things, and we're not talking about pocket cash either."
Quickly meeting her grandfather's eyes, Winn gave an empty smile. "Pirates may not be good at setting aside money, but I'm no pirate. At least not completely. I think I have more than enough set by to cover the bill for repairs. Grandfather may have taught me about piracy, but Grandmama taught me about finance. Smart lady, my grandmother." Pausing for a moment to think, she continued slowly, "I think I can even pay the crew enough to keep them from deserting."
"They wouldn't anyway, lass. Your husband picked out a good crew this time around, and he's been careful in choosing replacements. He didn't dare do anything less, not with ye aboard." Gibbs' words caused Winn to blink rapidly to hold back tears. A reminder of Jack's kindnesses was more than she could bear at the moment. "Speaking of Jack, lass . . . ."
"Yes. Speaking of Jack." Closing her eyes, Winn murmured to the room in general, "Now that the easy part is out of the way, let us move on to Jack. If only . . . if only life were simple." Collecting herself, she asked, "I don't suppose you know why they took him. I mean, we know why. I'm why. But what are they planning? What's their goal?"
"This might help answer that question for ye. The man who took Jack said we were to give this to 'his woman.'" Well, actually, the silver-haired devil had said something much less complementary, but Gibbs wasn't going to repeat his words. He had come to respect the woman before him after seeing what she had done for his younger protégé. She hadn't changed him and hadn't asked him to change, just stood by him in a way that was rare for anyone, man or woman, to do. Any changes in Jack with Winn at the root were made of the pirate's own choosing, and were all the better for it.
As Gibbs was thinking this, Winn raised her head and looked at the sealed parchment being held out in her direction. Then as she switched her gaze to the old seaman holding it, she wondered what he was still doing with Jack. Surely he could have settled down if he had saved a majority of the profits from some of their raids. Jack always brought in a good haul; he chose targets that would benefit his crew – if they had what it took to gain them. But somehow she doubted the reason Gibbs stayed had anything to do with money and more to do with the excitement and odd camaraderie found on the Pearl. As she reached out to take the letter, she thought, He's a good man. Jack, luck-touched man that he is, had better realize that. And then the letter was in her hand, and she had no more time to think idle thoughts.
Sitting and staring at the piece of paper in her hand, Winn realized that this was one of those rare events that had the potential to change every single part of life that came after it. Its potential was one that couldn't be delayed, deferred, or snuffed out. The only option was to choose what course it would take, choose where to release it's awe-inspiring vigor. She dreaded moments like these, all too used to having them turn against her. But this time she couldn't allow that. She had to read this missive and make her plans. She noticed that her hands were trembling for all the room to see, although she couldn't decide whether to place the blame on fear or anger. It was most likely a healthy combination of both.
As she sat motionless in her chair, as pirates – family and friends – looked on, she gave herself a momentary reprieve. For a single breath that lasted an eternity, she delayed opening it, not willing to accept what it had to say, but knowing that she had to to keep her world from crashing down around her. She knew that Gandolfi was most likely proposing some sort of trade, a devil's dowry; an exchange of what were really only transitory lives. A bargain that she didn't want to make, but gladly would if it meant her husband's life. And your child? Jack's child? Are you willing to endanger the only innocent in this entire situation?
Never! But as much as I . . . I love this child, I need it's father. It needs it's father. If I can only get to Jack, we'll all be safe, because I won't let anything happen to him or it, and he won't let anything happen to me. Nothing beyond his power. Beyond my power. That's all I can promise. All anyone can promise. But it's one I'm going to see kept, no matter what. She broke the seal.
Signora,
I suppose by now you know that I have . . . extended my hospitality to your . . . lover. Winn could feel the man's distaste for her creeping in through her pores. I suppose that I should turn the pair of you in for adultery, but I have other business with you. Your Captain Sparrow does not concern me, other than he is useful for garnering your attention. I desire to talk to you, nothing more. I desire to hear from you what happened on the Horizon's Promise all those years ago. Do not fear for your safety or that of the man who has been sheltering you. I do not wish to kill either of you. Of that you have my word. My word as a businessman, as an Italian, and as a God-fearing man.
You can find me on Navassa Island in a fortnight's time – with the next half moon. After I have been assured that justice has been satisfied, you and the captain will be free to leave. All I ask is that you come without escort, otherwise I will kill my rather hapless guest.
With my warmest regards,
Ignazio Gandolfi II
"You're not going to be able to convince me to not go." Henry Morgan was unsurprised to hear this rebellious declaration. He said nothing, letting the sound of his cane against the granite of the outdoor patio fill the silence as he came out into the garden and took a seat next to his youngest grandchild.
It was night. The past few hours had been nothing but constant arguments with various family members over whether or not she was going to go after her husband, but she had not allowed herself to be swayed. Cat wasn't speaking to her at the moment, and Ry was ready to lock her in her room. Were it not for the promise he had already made to take her to her husband, he would have. Gibbs and Anamaria had taken her decision with no more protest than a pair of exchanged looks – but they were loyal to Jack and therefore loyal to her. They would help her as they could. All that remained was for the old pirate to give or withhold his blessing.
The two sat and watched the moon rise, its figure waxing towards a respectable half-moon. From her calculations, Winn had three days – nights – before her deadline passed. If she left tomorrow she would have just enough time to make her rendezvous. As she sat preoccupied with arguments to make to convince her grandfather to make way to her will, and running over plans hatched while other family members had talked at her, a stray thought fought its way to her attention.
When she let out a laugh that was halfway between humor and despair, Morgan asked, "What is it, Winnie?"
He's the only person other than Jack to ever call me that. Everyone else was too scared to keep calling me by the name after I asked them to stop. "Do you know what I just realized?"
"What?"
"The night of the half moon, while that is an important date in and of itself now, it's also important for another reason this year." Trying to hold back the tears that had been threatening all day, Winn choked out, "It's the anniversary of our wedding. Our forth anniversary is going to be celebrated on the ship of a man who wants to see me pay for something that was an accident." A horrible, regrettable, and unfortunately fatal accident.
Morgan was silent for a moment, unsure of how to comfort the girl. Girl . . . she was a woman grown with a husband and a child on its way. She had seen more in nine-and-twenty years of life than some had seen in a lifetime. She was stronger than most women and some men – or at least she had been. He had undone some of that strength by seeing her become partially dependent on another man. A man who more often than not provided more than enough strength for her, but in his absence was unable to provide it. And they both knew that it was possible that without that strength, Winn would be unable to see her way through this mess. She was strong and independent once – she just needs to find that again. "All the more reason to celebrate your fifth year with style."
Winn shook her head, willing to leave reality behind for memory in this single moment. All too soon her time would be filled with plans and more anxiety than she would be able to stand.
"Can you honestly say that you won't welcome a change in your life, Winnie? I've seen you, these last few years. I've seen your smiles, and heard your laughter, but I've also seen you staring out at the ocean when you thought no one was watching. What were you thinking when you say the sun setting into the ocean, when you saw the stars rise above its rim?"
"I was wondering what was beyond the horizon."
"You're marrying a man who can show you, who can take you there."
She turned her head and met Morgan's eyes. "You were right, Grandpapa."
"About what?"
"Jack." Once again staring at the moon, she said, "He showed me the horizon. Has shown me so many different horizons. And the sight of all of them have faded in my memory until they're a single blur. There is only one detail that makes them distinguishable at all . . . and that's Jack. What he said, what he did, what we did, the stories he told. Stories not just about himself but about the history of wherever we were or whatever we were doing. Histories, and folklore, and superstition." She sighed. "I told . . . I tell stories to the children, and I can see their belief in their eyes. But I've never believed the tales myself. But Jack . . . Jack made . . . he makes me believe in impossible things even when I know he's making it all up. That every line is spun of . . . of spider-webs and moonbeams. And I love it. I love him. It's like whenever he tells a story I feel like a child again, an impressionable teen . . . and I find myself falling in love all over again."
Quietly Morgan asked, "Have you ever told him this?"
"No." She paused before continuing in a hushed voice, "But he already knows. I can see it. I see it in his actions, feel it in his gaze . . . . And I can hear it in his voice with each story he tells me." Falling silent again, Winn realized that there were tears trailing over her face like the lamentful caress of an absent lover. Wiping them away with the back of her hand she said simply, "I'm going to go and get him back, Grandpapa."
"Why?"
Winn considered this for some minutes, knowing that her grandfather was looking for more than a conventional reply. Duty, love, respect, obligation – none of these would matter to him. After several minutes, she found the words to express why she was going. "Because I made a vow to guard his life and to never leave him when he needed me. Because I trust him to do the same for me. And because losing him would be like stopping my own heart, because I have given it to him and I refuse to take it back."
"And your child?"
"Will be given as much protection as its father and I can give."
"Even if it means Jack dies in the process?"
How do I answer that? With a heart that was tearing itself into pieces, Winn said, "I honestly don't know." But it's possible. God help me, but I might trade one life for the other.
"Auntie Winn?" Winn turned from her packing to find Bella in her doorway. The child had grown up a lot in the past few years. No longer a scrawny girl, she was entering adolescence with more grace than Winn had. She had her mother's brown eyes and the dark hair inherited from her father. Looking at her, one could see the submerged willfulness in her eyes – a desire to do and see and learn everything she could about the world she lived in. Winn found herself praying for the man who eventually fell in love with her oldest niece – he was going to have his hands full. And with luck, he would love every moment of it and would treasure such a precious gift in his wife.
"Yes sweetling?" Despite her exhaustion and preoccupation, Winn found herself smiling.
The girl moved into the room with a brief pat on the head for Pige. Seating herself cross-legged on the bed, she asked, "You're going to go after Uncle Jack?"
Winn nodded. "I have to."
"But why? You tried to keep him from going alone, to keep him out of trouble, but he didn't listen. Why are you helping him now when you were cursing him the morning after he left you here?"
Ohh . . . serious talk. "Well . . ." taking a seat on the bed next to her niece, one hand at the small of her back and the other on her expanding belly, Winn said slowly, "First off, this isn't your uncle's mess. It's mine, and he was simply trying to protect me from it. And secondly, I love him."
"But you're always saying that you can take care of yourself. That you don't want to hide behind your husband."
"That's true." Winn knew there was more coming. And she was right.
Bella shook her head. "I guess I just don't understand how you can love someone who doubts you. Who treats you like some defenseless whelp who would throw good sense after bad if given the chance. I wouldn't be able to."
"Are you so sure of that?" Bella looked at her in shock, her mouth gaping open. "Don't look at me like that, dearheart. Believe it or not, I know what you're going through." She smiled, shaking her head. "It's a rare occasion when someone asks about love when they're not feeling it snapping at their heels like a shark after prey."
"That's not love, Auntie. That's . . . ." The girl stopped to think of a suitable word.
Winn smiled wryly before suggesting, "Being inconvenienced?" The girl nodded. "You're right, it does feel like that at times. Let me tell you a story." She shifted into a more comfortable position.
"When I first met your uncle Jack, I couldn't stand him. I found him to be rude, and irritating, and overly smug. He didn't pass up the chance to annoy me, and I didn't pass up the opportunity to sharpen my tongue on him. But at the same time, I couldn't understand why I couldn't get him out of my thoughts. It drove me nearly mad. But then, after a talk with your mother, and after reading a letter written for me by your great-grandmother, I realized something. And that something was that sometimes love doesn't take the shape that people think it should. It isn't always flowers and secret meetings and exchanging tokens and romantic moonlit serenades. Love is rarely romantic at all. In fact, I want you to steer clear of any men who make you feel romantic until you're at least twenty, understand me?" The girl giggled. "Anyway, sometimes love feels like you've been wrapped in a blanket of the softest wool, but more often, at least for me and I suspect it might be this way for you, love is getting so fed up with someone that you're willing to leave them in whatever mess they're in – that you want to forget all about them – but you can't."
"And that's why you're going after Uncle Jack? Because he annoys you and makes you mad?"
Winn nodded. "Yes. I suppose you can look at it that way. But no matter how much it feels like an inconvenience, it's one I've forgotten how to live without, and I don't want to remember."
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Author Thanks: a little more indepth. Love you all, love hearing from you, love making you think I've done something I haven't yet done, am not going to do, or might do later. : ) Sorry. What can I say? I'm addicted to cliffies and causing reviewer hyperventilation.
jackfan2 – trying to get to your fic, failing miserably, but it's on my to-read list. I promise I'll get there.
Talabar
ao_hoshi – dying to know where you got your name. Also new reviewer this fic.
completeopposites
pirates miss (formerly 'saiya-gurl) – yes, did notice the name change. Must say this one is easier to spell. : ) You too are a new reviewer this fic.
lilitaliandragon – nope, don't speak a word of Italian, but I have a friend who speaks several of them. (She's also ½ Italian, and darn proud of it.) ; )
bobo3 – still awaiting an update from you, miss. : )
Ginny-Star
KawaiiRyu
TaraRose
Ariandir – so glad to have you back! Missed your fic and your reviews. Don't be a stranger? (Jack puppy dog eyes)
Khamul – new reviewer! You rock my world.
jigglykat – new reviewer this fic. I love you guys.
SuzzieQue
Clover the Sea-Beast
PeleAmelika
Alej – Americanisms – an unfortunate side effect to living in America. : ) Please, feel more than free to send that website to me. I'd love whatever help you're willing to offer. And oh yeah, new reviewer! You rock my face.
Pirates – new reviewer! You rock my . . . my plastic pirate sword. Yeah, that's it.
Savvy-Z – so good to hear from you again.
