Wow, took me a while to write this but it's finally finished! I hope you enjoy it, please review when you're done!

Chapter 8

"I'm Carrying his Child"

            Jack shut his eyes and tensed his muscles, waiting for Will to strike him, but no blow came. He tentatively opened one eye, and saw Will looking at Elizabeth in hurt and confusion. He could feel a long and difficult explanation coming, and he wasn't looking forward to it at all.

            "Why?" Will asked Elizabeth, still barely believing that his suspicion could be correct.

            Elizabeth sighed in relief, hurrying to Will's side and placing a comforting hand on his arm. "Will, darling, sit down and let me explain. I promise you, it's not how it must look."

            Will was caught off guard by the affection she wouldn't have shown him a week ago, and obediently let go of Jack's neck. Elizabeth took him gently by the hand and led him back to the red velvet settle. She sat down carefully, and he perched on the other side, watching her warily. She refused to meet his eye, and it unnerved him. His heart thudded as he waited for Elizabeth to tell him she was in an affair with the pirate, that she was leaving. He glared at Jack, hating him with a passion. I'm definitely taking the bail money back! Feeling horrified at his petty thought, he inwardly kicked himself. He was losing the love of his life, the best thing that had ever happened to him, and he was thinking about a few shillings?!

            Will was distracted by some movement he saw out of the corner of his eye. Upon closer inspection, Elizabeth seemed to be gesturing for Jack to leave, but Jack was making some sort of return signal that Elizabeth did not understand, and she was shrugging at him. They both noticed Will looking curiously at them, and Jack thought better of whatever he was trying to convey. He cleared his throat awkwardly and walked out, on his way touching Elizabeth's shoulder, to her embarrassment and Will's anger.

            When Jack left, Elizabeth turned to face Will, and took his hand. He instinctively jerked it back, but seeing her upset, felt sorry, and grasped hers in return. He swallowed, feeling anticipation and dread at the same time, waiting for her to speak. She took her time, looking at his hand in hers. Finally, she opened her mouth, and they both thought simultaneously, this is it.

            "Will, I want you to remember that I love you with all my heart, and I always will. What I'm about to tell you will affect both of our lives so deeply that you may want to call off our engagement, but first know that I would hate that to happen," began Elizabeth, trying to structure her words carefully, and emphasize that she loved him. "This will be hard. But please don't say anything until I've finished." Elizabeth looked levelly at Will, who nodded, trying to swallow the lump in his throat. "Thank you."

            "Do you remember, about six weeks ago, when Jack and I were marooned together? Well, that night, we had nobody to talk to but each other, and so we managed to temporarily put our differences behind us, with the help of a vast quantity of rum. Mr. Sparrow's manner while under the influence of alcohol proved to be of no great difference to when he was sober, and so although my own inhibitions were lowered, I was still fairly repulsed by his behaviour. After toasting the Black Pearl, our pirate friend fell into a rum induced sleep, but I remained awake for about an hour, until Mr. Sparrow woke himself-" Elizabeth stopped abruptly, trying hard to remember. Will was still holding her hand, tracing the length of her index finger with his thumb thoughtfully. Her heart ached to see him, so she looked away and continued.

            "After this point, my memory is blank. I can't recall the events which followed, but my discussion with Jack has confirmed what I have been suspecting these past weeks. He and I had-" Elizabeth paused again, and leaned in closer to Will, as if she were uttering a filthy notion. "Somehow, we had- urm- relations." She whispered the last word, her heart pounding as she waited for her betrayal to sink in.

            "And now…" Elizabeth could feel Will staring at her, but she couldn't meet his eyes. Her voice was higher, almost a squeak, and a single tear escaped from her eye, rolling down her cheek. She swiped at it, irritably. "And now… I'm carrying his child…" she broke off, sobbing, and couldn't talk anymore. Trying to regain control of herself, she glanced at Will. He looked shocked, sitting there, staring straight ahead. Their hands had been separated now, and his were both in his lap, as he tried to comprehend what his fiancée had just said.

            My Elizabeth is going to have another man's baby, thought Will. A man who I'd thought was my friend. He sat there, hardly noticing Elizabeth's tears, as the thoughts of what this would mean for him ran through his mind. If, if, he and Elizabeth still married, he would have to deal with the fact that the son or daughter they would be bringing up would not be his. The father of the child might not want anything to do with it, or he might. If he did, Jack would visit Port Royal, or even worse, live there, and Will would have to watch him bond with the child Will was raising. If Jack wasn't interested in the baby, what would Will and Elizabeth tell it? Would they bring it up living a lie, telling it Will was the father? Or would they tell the truth, saying that it was the product of a drunken mistake? What if Will left Elizabeth? Could he carry on working in the town, seeing everybody judge him for not looking after Elizabeth when she was in trouble? He would lose his respect, and Elizabeth, his beautiful, amazing, loving girl. There would be no-one to replace her. But what she did… she betrayed his trust, and now there was no way they could forgive and forget, because there would be a living reminder there every day.

            "I- I can't think right now… I have to go," choked Will, getting up and striding out of the room.

            "Will!" called Elizabeth, but he didn't answer. She put her head in her hands and cried. She had never felt so alone, and she longed for human contact- just for someone to be there for her and hug her.

            "'Lizabeth…" Elizabeth looked at the doorway when she heard her name. It was Jack, and she looked away again. He walked in and sat down next to her, putting his arm around her shoulders, his strong grip pulling her body into his. "Sshh…" he comforted, uncharacteristically gentle, "the worst is over."

            "But it's not! Will's so upset… I'm going to lose him, I know it! Oh God, I love him so much… how could I have let this happen?!"

            Elizabeth was almost hysterical, and Jack did his best to calm her by hugging her tightly and murmuring comforting noises. "'Lizabeth… it's not all bad, at least at the end you'll 'ave a baby…"

            "Yes, I'm going to give birth to an illegitimate child! How will I ever face my family again? Everyone will pity me, they'll say it's my fault; they'll call me a 'silly girl'! All I wanted was to marry Will and be a respectable citizen-" at this, Jack chuckled, and Elizabeth looked up at him, annoyed. "I'm glad that my misery is entertaining for you, Jack Sparrow!"

            "Calm down, love, I ain't laughin' at you. Laughin' at meself. I always thought you was pretendin' to be so proper… I thought you was a little girl tryin' to be high an' mighty… but you've proved me wrong," Jack said in wonderment. Elizabeth looked up, not sure where he where his conversation was leading.

            "Jack, I… I don't know what you're talking about," she said, trying to read his expression, but it was strange. She felt an odd sense of anticipation, and tried to hide her hands, which had begun to tremble slightly. Watching Jack, she tried to sense his next move.

            "I just want to say that- that I'm seein' ye differently now… an' I like what I'm seein'…" Jack broke off, tilting his head to look at Elizabeth thoughtfully. Her cheeks flushed, and she reached for her cup of tea. It was cold, but she drank it anyway. She could feel Jack's eyes still upon her, and it made her restless and self conscious so she quickly got off the settle and straightened her skirts.

            "Will you be wanting anything else, Mr. Sparrow?"

            "No," he replied, still staring at her.

            "Then I will retire. I must wait for Will to make his decision before informing you further. I trust you will find somewhere in the town to sleep. Good day."

            "Wait." Elizabeth's heart sunk as he spoke. She had hoped to make her escape quickly.

            "Yes?" she asked, falsely casual, turning back round. Jack slowly stood up, took her delicate shoulders in his hands, and bent to kiss her.

*****

Will Jack and Elizabeth get together? I ain't sure myself yet, but review to let me know what you think!