Author's Note: Wow…this was a really depressing chapter to write. But I was kinda of in the mood for it. I'm hoping to get a little cheery in the next chapter. I'm sorry if I depressed a lot of you, but of course you all knew this was going to happen when Rick first bet Jack. It's still…sad though. Oh, and please don't come after me with pitchforks! I know you all loved the last chapter…but *eek!* I don't want to lose reviewers…
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Jack wasn't sure how exactly he got here, on the sofa, but he knew that he didn't want to leave. Gwyneth seemed like she was asleep and she was in his arms.
I think I really do love Gwen…
This creates a problem.
Only emotionally.
Oh, and didn't you hear Rick come through the door?
Jack looked up, remembering hearing the front door open and close, there was Rick- standing in the parlor door way.
"She is a pretty little thing," Rick said, restating himself from when he and Jack first got here. Jack looked down, seeing how peaceful and beautiful she looked. He didn't necessarily want that to change. Ever.
"Rick…we need to talk," he said in a whisper, trying to remove himself from Gwyneth without waking her up.
****
Gwyneth was indeed, peaceful. Nothing more in the entire world could've felt better.
Except if you knew this spot was permanent
But she was not asleep, on the contrary, she was very much awake but finding that closing her eyes made things…peaceful. The way things were going; this had to be her best day in a long time. Jack had returned to the scarf around his forehead, an improvement in her mind, they both knew how they felt for each other and now this was just perfect.
Gwyneth's 'perfect' state of mind started to waver when Jack carefully got up. She moaned quietly but stayed put, hearing what Jack had said about talking to Rick. If they need privacy then they'll leave…no big deal. She heard him walk over to Rick, and open her eyes a little to see if they were leaving or not. They weren't. She sighed and closed her eyes again. A smile graced her lips when she thought about what Jack had told her. Now all we need to work with is that wardrobe of his. But at least he's got his scarf and boots. I wonder where his hat is…
She paused, hearing little bits and pieces of what Jack was saying. His tone of voice was harsh, mad almost. How could he get mad so quickly? She tried to shake off the strange feeling that something was wrong, but she couldn't. She opened her eyes, hoping one of them noticed that she was awake and stopped talking.
****
"What's wrong?" Rick asked, as Jack finally detached himself from Gwyneth. He heard her make a small noise, but ignored it. He walked over to Rick and led him towards the door. He looked back at Gwyneth, her eyes still closed and he said, "Look, this bet thing has taken an interesting turn."
"What kind of turn?"
Jack sighed, he didn't want to admit this to Rick. He couldn't even believe that he was backing down form this bet, but he now realized that it was wrong to do this and now was better than never. "Rick, I just can't do this. Call it off."
"Call it off?!" he said, half laughing, "Why would I do something like that when you haven't given me a good reason to do so?"
"Rick, just trust me on this."
He rolled his eyes, "You know I trust you, but this bet, I'm taking a little more seriously."
"It's a bet!" Jack said a little too loud, noticing that Rick focused on something else, behind him, "You bet me fifteen pounds to see if Gwen would admit she loved me in a fortnight! What kind of person makes that kind of bet?! There was no real good reason to do so!"
Rick swallowed, "Yes, I must agree now that a fool does that…but an even bigger fool talks about the bet when the person he's betting on…isn't sleeping."
It seemed as though Jack heart stopped beating. Gwen isn't asleep? Meaning she just heard everything I just said? He closed his eyes, slightly shaking his head, this can't be happening. I was trying to call off the bet…no…no. He opened his eyes and slowly turned. Gwyneth was sitting on the couch with a look on her face that Jack couldn't exactly read.
She laughed nervously, getting up, "This is a play…right?"
Rick looked to his side where Jack stood to Gwyneth, "It was never anything against…you, luv."
Gwyneth's eyes widened as she looked from Rick to Jack. The look on both their faces told her that Rick was telling the truth. She tried to control the rush of tears that were threatening to pour, "Rick, can you excuse us?"
"Uh…sure…" Gwyneth and Jack kept eye contact while he left the room and shut the door behind him. The first thing she did was slap him across the face. Jack winced as the throbbing continued even after her hand left his cheek. If I have ever deserved a slap, that was the one time.
"Well I hope you get your money." She spat at him. She started to leave, but Jack grabbed on to her arm, "Let go of me," she hissed.
"Let me explain!"
"Explain?! I know the scenario! He bet you, you were most likely drunk and the money sounded more interesting and more important than my feelings!" she yelled, tears streaming down her face, "And even with your strange hair and clothes, I thought you had changed! But you had us all fooled, didn't you?! You're still a bloody pirate with a black heart!"
Jack felt like he had been kicked in the stomach, she couldn't be saying all this, could she? She freed her arm and said with one last sob, "Thank you so much for curing me of my absurd fascination with love!"
****
Gwyneth had somehow managed to collect herself enough to get through the door, past Caitlin and Rebecca and into the parlor where Faith was before breaking down again. Through labored breathing and sobs, Gwyneth got the gist out to her sister and confessed that she truly loved Jack, and then told Faith what he had told her. From then on, Gwyneth just cried, long, heart wrenching sobs. She hoped the kids wouldn't come in and bother her, she wasn't in the mood to do anything but cry.
Trevor got home from work a little before dinner was supposed to be ready. Brenda was outside with Suzette and they came in together. The minute she and Trevor walked in the door they heard the sobbing from one of the rooms. Jonathan and Mark had a solemn face on, they were standing across the hall from the room. Brenda peaked her head into the door, wondering which one of the girls had gotten hurt.
The image that Brenda saw made her sick to her stomach. The sobbing wasn't coming from Rebecca or Caitlin because of a skinned knee or something inconsequential, but from a grown woman. The sobs echoing through the house were coming from Gwen.
Trevor peaked his head in above Brenda's and quickly looked away, the sound alone was heart wrenching, but the sight made you want to cry. He lined up next to his brother and sighed. Brenda, however, she stayed, taking in the sight with sadness and almost curiosity.
Gwyneth was in the arms of Faith, who was rocking her gently, rubbing her back and pushing hair out of Gwyneth's face. The calming was doing nothing to Gwyneth though. Whatever had happened hit Gwyneth hard. And Brenda wanted to know what could hurt Gwyneth that much, although she already had a good idea.
****
Rick came wondered back into the room Jack was in. He was hunched over and sitting on the couch. He wasn't moving or saying anything or cursing. Jack picked up his head when he heard Rick come in. "I saw her leave…"
Jack nodded.
Rick shook his head, "Hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn,"
Jack eyed him, "Which could've been prevented if you hadn't bet me!"
"You're the one who took the bet…" when Jack just dropped his head in response Rick asked, "So does this mean that she does love you?"
Jack paused, the bet, that's right…fifteen pounds or Gwen's heart and I chose the fifteen pounds… Jack shook his head slightly, feeling like killing himself, I'm such a horrible person… He sighed and dug into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper he was keeping just in case this happened. He threw it on the floor next to Rick. In rough handwriting it had, 'I owe you fifteen pounds'.
Rick paused, picked up the paper and cursed under his breath for his friend, but trying to lighten the mood he remarked, "Ah, it's better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all, right Jack?"
Jack turned his head and met Rick's gaze, he narrowed his eyes, "Try it some time."
Rick paused, seeing Jack was clearly angry. There's no reason for him to be angry unless… he paused, seeing both his and Jack's mistake in this whole thing, unless Jack fell in love. "Jack…I know I asked if she loves you…but is it possible that you also love her, and that's why you wanted to call the bet off?"
"No." Jack answered quickly.
Rick sat back in his chair, "You know, it's hard to believe that a man is tellin' the truth when you know that you would lie if you were in his place."
"If you already knew the answer then why ask me?"
"Why didn't you tell me?!"
"And have you consider me a coward to back out of a stupid little bet we both made when drunk? I don't think so."
****
That night during dinner, Gwyneth stayed up in her room. Faith had informed the table that Gwyneth had gone through something dramatic and didn't want to be bothered. Not for any length of time, that is. The kids protested, especially the two younger girls, but their father agreed with his wife. Gwyneth didn't need to be around them at this delicate time.
Brenda kept quiet through out dinner. I'm not one of their children, so technically I don't have to follow their orders…right? She looked at Trevor, On the other hand, I should do what Edward and Faith says anyhow. Just to stay on their good side. I'll ask them privately if I can talk to her tomorrow. She sighed, and kept eating.
Half way through dinner Jacque came through, holding a covered platter. Except he didn't set it on the table, he headed for the stairs. "Jacque…" Edward called, "What are you doing?"
"Ms. Gwyneth asked me to bring her a piece of chocolate pie, sir, and that's exactly what I'm doing."
He nodded, "Fine. Bring her whatever she wants, will you, Jacque?"
"Yes sir," he answered and continued up the stairs. Edward turned around, shaking his head slightly, but said nothing.
"Daddy, can we make Aunt Gwyneth something to make her feel better?"
He smiled at his littlest, "What were you thinking of, Rebecca?"
"Something chocolate." She answered. The rest of the children smirked but looked at their father for an answer.
"I think that would be okay. Have cook help you make a…cake. And you know how much your aunt likes Chocolate, and since we don't have a lot of it, I'm sure you can use what we have on your aunt."
The children beamed, glad they could experiment in the kitchen and cheer their aunt up at the same time. Brenda sighed, thinking she would rather chase down a wild boar than join in with that activity, but when Rebecca stared up at her with her big green eyes, and asked Brenda if she wanted to help, Brenda couldn't help but say yes.
****
Dinner at the Turner's, however, was a little different. Jack did attend the dinner, he did talk to the family but didn't say a word about Gwyneth. Elizabeth went on and on about her birthday was wonderful and thanked everyone for doing such a thing for her. Jack wanted to put in that he and Rick didn't do anything, but why spoil her happiness?
After dinner Elizabeth and Will both approached Jack, noticing that he seemed a little off at dinner. "Why don't you ask Rick?" Jack said, turning and going towards the door.
"Where are you going?" Elizabeth called after him.
"To the tavern. I need a drink!"
When he slammed the door, Will looked at his wife, "I thought he didn't drink…"
Rick explained everything when Will and Elizabeth cornered him. He told them all about the bet, and when Gwyneth found out and how Jack was in love with her and she wasn't in love with him. Elizabeth gave Rick a firm tongue lashing quickly enough about making bets on women's hearts.
"Do you think that's true?" Will asked when they were out on the porch.
"What?"
"That Gwyneth wasn't feeling the same thing as Jack…that she truly wasn't returning his feelings."
Elizabeth sighed and shrugged, "Rick said Jack told him she didn't. Why would Jack lie? Because according to their bet, if she did love him, Jack would've gained the fifteen pounds."
"Fifteen pounds is a lot of money…" Will said, thinking about it, "Jack must've been telling the truth."
After a pause she said, "You should go talk to him, Will, you really should."
Will sighed heavily, "I don't think he's in the talking mood. And if he's truly going to get a drink…he'll be drunk when he gets home."
She nodded, "I'm glad the old Jack is coming back, but it's at an awful inopportune moment, don't you think?"
Will nodded, "Definitely. But I'll talk to him tomorrow."
****
Usually when Jack was distressed he drank and drank. When the distress affected him…emotionally, such as if it has something to do with Brenda or when Gibbs died, Jack pulled out a bottle of rum, but never actually drank a drop. Unfortunately, due to his abstinence from rum for quite some time, he was drinking. A lot. Which to his chagrin, wasn't helping him at all.
He felt like someone had ripped his heart out and shot it. He remembered feeling this when Beverly had left him. How could I do something like that? He thought to himself as the room slowly turned around him. He closed his eyes, thinking he better keep his dinner in his stomach.
If he had been falling since Gibbs death and Ana Maria's departure, then he had hit rock bottom now. And the bottom, unfortunately, wasn't a soft place. A harsh reality should've sobered him up, should've taught him a lesson, about what to do and what not to do. Of course, that would've worked a lot better if he was sober.
I should try to talk to her…I have to do something… He thanked his lucky stars that Gwyneth didn't have a temper like Brenda's (though it was a close second), and that she didn't exercise it regularly, like his adorable daughter. Oh, Brenda's going to shoot me in the face if she finds out… he thought lazily. He thought about how close Brenda and Gwyneth had gotten. He remembered how his daughter and the woman had an instant connection, even those fourteen years ago.
And now, they've had a lot more time to develop their relationship…she would've been a great mother.
He sighed, this wasn't helping. He felt a lump forming in his throat, washing it down with a swig of rum, he tried standing up. If he could stand up, then he could walk which meant he could get to Will and Elizabeth's house. He grabbed his forehead, Elizabeth's going to shoot me in the face when she finds out…oh bloody me. It was going to be a long walk home.
****
Gwyneth wasn't sure why, but all of the sudden Caitlin and Rebecca had taken a certain liking to her and her bed. They had come in during the night, eyes barely open, mumbling something of an apology and then climbed into the bed, one girl on each side of Gwyneth.
They hadn't really disrupted anything. She wasn't sleeping. She wasn't crying. She wasn't thinking. She was just staring out her window, thinking about nothing in particular, even with the current situation she was in. But when the girls had settled into the bed, Gwyneth started thinking.
Why do these thoughts have to come now? She thought as she tried to push down the tears forming in her eyes. It wasn't really working all that well. I thought all my tears were gone… she said, thinking of that afternoon with Faith. She sighed and tried to push the thought of children out of her head.
I really did think I was content with Edward and Faith's children…I told myself over and over that I was fine. And for a while I believed myself. But at times like this, I wish I had children of my own. Children that I had sweat over for nine months and then loved them for all they were worth.
She sniffed. And the most horrible thing was, after Nathan died, I actually considered Jack to be a good father for my hypothetical children! She frowned, thinking about this afternoon and what had gone on.
You love him.
I know! That's the horrible part! I thought after Nathan it was going to be it! I was going to meet a nice man, get married, have kids…do the good society thing! She started to pout, tears making their way down her face. She wiped them away angrily. But I had to fall for Captain Jack Sparrow! She took in a deep breath, trying to control herself, not wanting to wake the little beauties by her.
"I just don't have any luck with men…" she whispered into the darkness. She remembered how she felt when she saw Nathan dead, with a puddle of blood around him. Pain seemed to serge from every part of her body to attack her heart. Oddly enough, what she felt when she realized Jack had been lying to her all this time was a similar emotion. Except she not only was miserable and angry, this time she was miserable, angry and felt like dying. She had kept up this obsession with Jack for more than fourteen years. She had put her heart out on the line, when she didn't even know if the line was sturdy. The damage he seemed to do, wasn't going to be fixed, not by any man and not anytime soon.
The last thing she remembered before she drifted into dream land was seeing her sampler on the wall and thinking how nice it would be to have Jack out of Port Royal.
****
"Gwen, are you sure you're-"
"Eddie, please, I'm a grown woman, don't you think I know if I'm okay?"
Edward shot a look at his wife and nodded, "Of course. Now, what's this all about?" Gwyneth had called together Brenda, Trevor, Faith, Edward and herself. It seemed almost overnight she became totally unemotional. As if a little bit of emotion came out with each tear she cried the day before, and now her tears were gone, along with her heart. Brenda exchanged a look with Trevor, both of them also noticing how Gwyneth's usual cheery and full-of-life disposition was gone.
"Eddie, let me just put it plainly. You and Faith don't particularly want Brenda and Trevor…getting involved. But the most ironic thing happened. These two individuals who seemed to hate each other…as shown by the knife marks all around the house, well they…they've grown rather attached to each other."
Edward took in a deep breath, he expected this, but he was wondering why Brenda and Trevor were in here. If Gwyneth ever talked to himself and Faith, the children were never there. What was so different about this situation? "Go on."
"Well to say the least, Faith and I found Brenda and Trevor in a rather…interesting situation. They had obviously fallen asleep in front of the fire…together. And hadn't woken up until Faith made her presence known by a shrill yell."
Edward's mouth dropped a little, looking at the two young adults on the couch in front of him. "Now, I know how you like to deal with… well people who upset you, so I told Brenda that I will stick by her. If you throw her out, then you'll throw me out. It was an honest mistake Eddie, and they're just children after all."
"Yes, but Trevor has a reputation to uphold!"
"Eddie, what kind of person will take a reputation of a seventeen year old seriously? If this incident doesn't go beyond the four walls of our house, then what harm will it do?"
Edward paused, seeing her point. A question popped into his head, but he was a little hesitant to ask it. She hadn't cracked a smile or frowned during this conversation. It was a dead-pan look during the whole thing. Kinda reminds me of the Commodore when he's dealing with a prisoner… "Well Gwen…what about Brenda's father? Is someone going to tell him?"
Gwyneth's spine straightened, "Brenda can tell him if she so desires. But we do still want Trevor to live to his eighteenth birthday."
Brenda smiled, seeing her father going after Trevor with a pistol. "And it's not like I slept with him or anything…" Brenda said. All heads turned towards her. She thought of it as something of a joke, she swallowed. The look on Faith and Edward weren't humorous.
Gwyneth took in a small breath, "Yes, thank you Brenda." She turned towards her brother, "So? What have you decided?"
He looked at the people-in-question and sighed, "Just make sure you don't spend too much time together…okay?"
Gwyneth raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised that her brother was taking this a lot better than she had planned. Brenda promised, as did Trevor and they both ran out of the room. Gwyneth watched them go and commented, "Well at least they won't be riding Pearl…she doesn't really like the rain."
"Gwyneth…listen, I don't know all the facts but-"
Gwyneth held up her hand, stopping him from continuing, "Eddie, the last thing in the world I want from you is pity." She paused, "Now, if you excuse me, I've done my duty…I didn't get much sleep last night, so if you both excuse me…"
"Gwyneth, can't we just talk about it?" Faith asked, as Gwyneth brushed past the couple.
She stopped, but refused to turn around, "I don't want to talk about it. Not with you, not with Brenda and certainly not with him." she paused before going back up the stairs with her head high.
****
Jack didn't come out of the drawing room until early afternoon. His hang over from the night before was somewhat gone. The first person he looked for was Rick, finding him gone he went looking for Will. "Will!" he called. A few minutes later, Will appeared at the bottom of the stairs, "You called?"
Jack turned around, "Where's Rick? Surely, he's not outside…it's pouring." Will looked out the nearest windows, he rubbed the back of his neck, this had to be the worst weather the Caribbean has had in quite some time.
"It reminds me of England almost." Jack commented.
"You lived in England?" Will asked, turning back around.
"Oh yea! Born and raised!"
"Jack…" Will said, sighing, "Rick told me everything. I heard you come in late last night…are you alright?"
Jack didn't want to talk about this, he didn't want to think about his mistake. My mistake. All mine. "Will, you can understand not wanting to think about mistakes, right?"
Will nodded. Jack nodded back, "Well then you will understand if I don't want to talk about it." Jack sighed and went over and sat down in the front room. Will, not sure what to do, followed him. Will sighed, not sure what to say, Jack was obviously hurting and he wasn't sure if there was anything to say. He gingerly put his hand on Jack's back, which caused Jack to say, "They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them, but then an entire life to forget them…"
"You love her?"
Jack nodded.
"They also say that love is not blind - it sees more, not less. But because it sees more, it is willing to see less."
Jack snorted, "Ha! They obviously weren't talking about women."
"You may have done something…you regretted, but don't you think she'll forgive you?"
"If you saw in her eyes what I saw then you'd know she's not up for forgiving me."
Will didn't respond but removed his hand and Jack lifted his head and sighed, "But she was my favorite mistake."
"Was?"
He smirked, "Is."
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A/N2: Sadly enough this is coming to an end…I only have about three more chapters…but the ending of this story is up to you…my characters are getting old. Jack is in his early fifties…Gwen, Will and Liz are late thirties-early forties…do you want another story to continue this one? Please respond to this one question if you respond to nothing else.
Author Thanks:
Albe-Chan: wow, you along with everyone else loved that last chapter…I just hope you all loved this chapter.
Dawnie-7: I need to learn how to keep a memory in my head…I told Piper8188 that I loved her one shot on Mort Rainy, thankfully she corrected me, I went back and saw that it was your story. I'm sorry. But I absolutely loved that one shot. It was a tad on the strange side, but Mort isn't exactly a sane person…I think you captured him perfectly. Did I ever review for that one? If I didn't, tell me and I will. Well soon the whole outfit will be back…except for the hat…hmmm
Emma436: darling, I love you to death for sending me that long review. It was fun to read! Omg…you're so…exuberant about this story! I love it! But it's kinda freaky how right you are on one of you ideas…I'm not going to tell you which one because you'll find out next chapter…but it's REALLY FREAKY! It's like you're in my mind! Jeez. But I'm glad you liked that chapter…did you like this chapter? I'm so scared that everyone is going to hate me. But I know that drama makes a story…and if this isn't drama, then I don't know what is.
Piper8188: Well Sorry about the mix up…you'll have to tell me about your story, whenever you do get finished with it. You were really that surprised by the slap? That's funny…lol. The bet was for Gwen to say 'I love you' to Jack in a certain amount of weeks…two-three weeks. If she told Jack that then Jack would win the money. But if she didn't tell Jack that, then Rick would win the money…
Vicki Turner: Oh me too honey…I'm a hopeless romantic.
ThePinkPanther: Yes, the society of the world is a wicked thing isn't it? I don't really agree with it at all. Oh! Was this chapter 'big' enough for you?
Lord-of-all-the-Cheesesticks: Interesting name…I'm glad you decided to review! I always love hearing from new people…I'm glad you like this story and my writing styles…am I to assume you've read 'There's Your Trouble' then? I have a #1 fan? Right on!
