Chapter 2: Birth, Babies and Blood
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A/N: Okay, this is becoming even more random, but hey...random can be a very good exercise for the mind. Well, at least its got a lot of action!
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Rachael Gibbs and her Captain, Daisy Sparrow, were stood silently in the shadows of the towering town houses. They glanced up and down the alleyway where Tiff and Nikki had gone...or at least supposed to have gone. But now they had been waiting quarter of an hour, and seemed apparent that they weren't coming. Maybe they were lost? But...surely it wasn't that challenging to put one foot in front of the other down a simple road. No - Rachael and Daisy thought it could only be something much more serious...maybe they had been captured!
Rachael turned to Daisy quickly with a glint of fear in her eye, "Cap'n...suppose if they have been hurt? Or taken away??" She seemed genuinely anxious about the situation, which wasn't usual for a fighting pirate such as herself...however it may have been the rum kicking in. Daisy stood and stared up the alleyway and then looked back at the crew around her. Matt and Becky had now stopped giggling and were looking fearful of what could have happened to the others.
Daisy didn't want her crew to be afraid so she smiled indicating that all was well..."they are properly in a tavern somewhere drinking themselves silly again" this was not what she really believed but the gesture that all was well seemed to calm the crew. "Becky and Matt take that rowing boat and sail back to the Pearl. Prepare for sail and Mat...make some dinner will you im starving!" The two nodded and set off. Daisy turned to Rachael and gave her the best fake smile she could manage. "Come on they are bound to be somewhere here"
Rachael blinked and nodded, suddenly aware that everyone was on the move again, "Aye, I'm sure they will be." Together, Rachael and Daisy headed up the alleyway where Tiff and Nikki had gone. There eyes darting about them for any clues as to what may have happened, and where the heck those two pirates had got. The shadows darkened and the air steadily sharpened as they cautiously made there way past various buildings, and all was very silent. Yet.... something disrupted the deadly cold night atmosphere. By one of the doorways was a strange humming. Higher in pitch than that of a man. Melancholy and almost sinister sounding, was the tune. Yet the voice seemed innocent. Rachael inhaled sharply, as too did Daisy.
Daisy fumbled at her belt and clasped the cold steel of the blade's handle. Yet she did not remove it from the belt. The humming had stopped almost as soon as it had started and the sound of shallow breathing escaped the body from where it was coming. The captain moved forwards and glanced around the door. There was nothing there. Suddenly the screams of a man came from inside the house and something scampered behind Daisy's legs. A man six foot tall came banging out of the doorframe. In his hand was a broken bottle with blood covering the shards of glass. He lunged towards Daisy and Rachael in a drunken fury...but he was not fast enough to match the two pirates. Both had cutlasses in their hands pointed towards his neck...but something held them back from killing him...
Rachael was breathing quickly...her hand clutching onto her cutlass, but frozen to the spot. She couldn't bring herself to kill this man, and neither could Daisy. The poor guy staggered and fell to the floor suddenly, and they both leant down to see if he was still alive, or whether he may have died from shock. Rachael turned to Daisy, "Yee know. Its a shame Nikki ain't here...she's the best one for this sort of thing." Daisy nodded and pouted at the situation. Rachael sighed then suddenly thought of something that was totally foolproof. She slapped him round the side of the face quickly, "Oi!...we need to ask yeh something, wakey wakey!" At this, the man jumped and coughed violently - Daisy and Rachael dodged just in time - and gaped at them with eyes like a clown fish in complete bewilderment.
Daisy dodged the spray of vomit and turned to the man with some disgust. "Have you seen two.... uh.... men walking down here recently?" It was best to describe them as men because women did not go around in trousers if they were not pirates and it was best to keep this man from thinking that that was what they were. He blinked stupidly and pointed inside the door. Rachael peered in but Daisy stopped her. The man got up and stumbled back into the building. Daisy turned to Rachael. Rachael questioned her with her eyes as to what she was doing but Daisy turned around and stared behind the dustbins. Slowly - as her eyes adjusted to the light - she began to make out the figure of a small child who had started to hum again.
Rachael leaned into the house, the child still humming to him. His voice continued to echoed around the room inside, yet as soon as he saw Rachael and Daisy he gasped innocently and fled form the room into what appeared to be the seller. Rachael frowned and turned back to Daisy, "What do'ya suppose was wrong with 'im?" At this both the pirates moved away from the house and glanced back down the alleyway. They still needed to find Tiff and Nikki and were running out of time.
Daisy stared back at the door...the screams coming from inside were terrible. It sounded like a cat being strangled. The prospect of blood and maybe even death excited the young captain and she found herself moving towards the door. She tired to stop herself...no must think of Tiffany a Niki...but the strain was too much. She started for the door...but then heard a voice that she recognized coming from inside the house...it was the voice of Niki and why was she yelling 'push'?
Rachael pulled a face of complete confusion as Daisy began to nudge her excitedly to go back into the house...what in the world was going on?! They both went rushing in and followed the sounds of someone screaming...yet to there complete shock and amazement, it was a woman - apparently the wife of the guy they had threatened at the front door - she was having a baby! And the site was terrible, at least 8 children were running around the place in a panic, and no one seemed to be controlling them but Tiff, and good old Nikki was there helping on the lady.
Daisy began to feel woozy. She hated the sight of babies bursting out their mothers.... bits. How Niki could do it was beyond her. But she was so relieved to have finally found Tiff and Niki! She turned to Rach and smiled, a true smile this time. Tiff collapsed on a couch and gave up on the children. But the children had turned deadly silent and all eyes were on those two people who had just entered the room. One boy pointed in excitement "Look. Look. Look a PIRATE!!!" he yelled over the screams of his mother. He ran into the corner of a room and jumped up and down. Apparently seeing a pirate was very exciting...but scary at the same time. Daisy turned to Rach...neither were too good with children
Rachael rolled her eyes, "What? You ain't never seen a pirate before lad?" She gave the young lad a wink and pulled her coat to one side to reveal the glimmering steel handle of her cutlass. The children gasped and exchanged scared looks with each other. "Don't worry...I'm not 'ere to kill anyone!" Although this didn't really do very much, as they still maintained a shocked look on their faces. "We're 'ere, looking for these two!" She pointed to Tiff and Nikki, and all the children gasped again shouting in unison, "You are pirates too!!" Daisy and Rachael chuckled - clearly Tiff and Nikki needed to work on there pirate 'image' if they were being regarded as common English folk.
Daisy smiled...and then winced. Having babies must be very painful...thank god she'd never have any. She turned to the toddler who was pulling at her trousers and gave her a smile. Children weren't so bad...when they were some one else's. She called over Tiff so they could go outside...the baby's head was poking out and she's rather not watch. The three pirates made their way out into the cold air and immediately Rach and Daisy turned onto Tiff "Where were you? We were waiting! Becky and Matt are dead worried!"
Rachael stood their, listening intently as Daisy continued her lecture to Tiff. "Why did ya wanna help this woman anyway?" Rach had now finally settled on asking a question herself and was rather curious. Tiff sighed and rolled her eyes, "Coz she was havin' a baby o' course! Couldn't just leave her with a husband that's as drunk as us!" Rach and Daisy exchanged interested looks but glanced back to Tiff more seriously, "Yea, but we haven't got time for this..." Tiff interrupted them however, "Ah, but its fro a good cause my dear cap'n. She can't afford to keep all these kids, I mean who could!? So she wants to let her eldest boy out to work full-time somewhere were he can be looked after..." Rach pulled an even more confused face, and so did Daisy. "And what's that gotta do with us?"
Daisy stopped in her tracks. "You mean us?" She said. Tiff nodded. "But we can't look after a kid...no one would know how to start. Matt would have to learn how to cook Mc Donald's for crying out loud!" just then she stopped and realized that Mc Donald's hadn't been invented yet. Rach stood their just shaking her head so Daisy continued, "How old is this boy anyway? Does he know how to work?" Just then a small figure came out from the shadows. "Im good and proper...I...I...I...can work" he said in a small, scared voice. Daisy turned to the boy and got down to his height "Do you get seasick? " she asked. "N..n...n...no" Daisy turned to the two members of her crew. "We could use a cabin boy I guess"
Rachael suddenly realized what Daisy was suggesting and pulled a face, "Him...but - but he has no experience?" Rach thought that it would be almost impossible, even daft! Daisy sighed and put a hand on her shoulder, "Rach, don't worry...its something new - and you've always gotta try, plus we need the extra help." Now she seemed to be off looking at the ceiling, "Rather daft really - daft like Jack" She chuckled and turned back to the boy. The boy stood still and attentive, and Rach shook her head realizing that it couldn't be too bad...could it?"
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A/N: Okay, this is becoming even more random, but hey...random can be a very good exercise for the mind. Well, at least its got a lot of action!
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Rachael Gibbs and her Captain, Daisy Sparrow, were stood silently in the shadows of the towering town houses. They glanced up and down the alleyway where Tiff and Nikki had gone...or at least supposed to have gone. But now they had been waiting quarter of an hour, and seemed apparent that they weren't coming. Maybe they were lost? But...surely it wasn't that challenging to put one foot in front of the other down a simple road. No - Rachael and Daisy thought it could only be something much more serious...maybe they had been captured!
Rachael turned to Daisy quickly with a glint of fear in her eye, "Cap'n...suppose if they have been hurt? Or taken away??" She seemed genuinely anxious about the situation, which wasn't usual for a fighting pirate such as herself...however it may have been the rum kicking in. Daisy stood and stared up the alleyway and then looked back at the crew around her. Matt and Becky had now stopped giggling and were looking fearful of what could have happened to the others.
Daisy didn't want her crew to be afraid so she smiled indicating that all was well..."they are properly in a tavern somewhere drinking themselves silly again" this was not what she really believed but the gesture that all was well seemed to calm the crew. "Becky and Matt take that rowing boat and sail back to the Pearl. Prepare for sail and Mat...make some dinner will you im starving!" The two nodded and set off. Daisy turned to Rachael and gave her the best fake smile she could manage. "Come on they are bound to be somewhere here"
Rachael blinked and nodded, suddenly aware that everyone was on the move again, "Aye, I'm sure they will be." Together, Rachael and Daisy headed up the alleyway where Tiff and Nikki had gone. There eyes darting about them for any clues as to what may have happened, and where the heck those two pirates had got. The shadows darkened and the air steadily sharpened as they cautiously made there way past various buildings, and all was very silent. Yet.... something disrupted the deadly cold night atmosphere. By one of the doorways was a strange humming. Higher in pitch than that of a man. Melancholy and almost sinister sounding, was the tune. Yet the voice seemed innocent. Rachael inhaled sharply, as too did Daisy.
Daisy fumbled at her belt and clasped the cold steel of the blade's handle. Yet she did not remove it from the belt. The humming had stopped almost as soon as it had started and the sound of shallow breathing escaped the body from where it was coming. The captain moved forwards and glanced around the door. There was nothing there. Suddenly the screams of a man came from inside the house and something scampered behind Daisy's legs. A man six foot tall came banging out of the doorframe. In his hand was a broken bottle with blood covering the shards of glass. He lunged towards Daisy and Rachael in a drunken fury...but he was not fast enough to match the two pirates. Both had cutlasses in their hands pointed towards his neck...but something held them back from killing him...
Rachael was breathing quickly...her hand clutching onto her cutlass, but frozen to the spot. She couldn't bring herself to kill this man, and neither could Daisy. The poor guy staggered and fell to the floor suddenly, and they both leant down to see if he was still alive, or whether he may have died from shock. Rachael turned to Daisy, "Yee know. Its a shame Nikki ain't here...she's the best one for this sort of thing." Daisy nodded and pouted at the situation. Rachael sighed then suddenly thought of something that was totally foolproof. She slapped him round the side of the face quickly, "Oi!...we need to ask yeh something, wakey wakey!" At this, the man jumped and coughed violently - Daisy and Rachael dodged just in time - and gaped at them with eyes like a clown fish in complete bewilderment.
Daisy dodged the spray of vomit and turned to the man with some disgust. "Have you seen two.... uh.... men walking down here recently?" It was best to describe them as men because women did not go around in trousers if they were not pirates and it was best to keep this man from thinking that that was what they were. He blinked stupidly and pointed inside the door. Rachael peered in but Daisy stopped her. The man got up and stumbled back into the building. Daisy turned to Rachael. Rachael questioned her with her eyes as to what she was doing but Daisy turned around and stared behind the dustbins. Slowly - as her eyes adjusted to the light - she began to make out the figure of a small child who had started to hum again.
Rachael leaned into the house, the child still humming to him. His voice continued to echoed around the room inside, yet as soon as he saw Rachael and Daisy he gasped innocently and fled form the room into what appeared to be the seller. Rachael frowned and turned back to Daisy, "What do'ya suppose was wrong with 'im?" At this both the pirates moved away from the house and glanced back down the alleyway. They still needed to find Tiff and Nikki and were running out of time.
Daisy stared back at the door...the screams coming from inside were terrible. It sounded like a cat being strangled. The prospect of blood and maybe even death excited the young captain and she found herself moving towards the door. She tired to stop herself...no must think of Tiffany a Niki...but the strain was too much. She started for the door...but then heard a voice that she recognized coming from inside the house...it was the voice of Niki and why was she yelling 'push'?
Rachael pulled a face of complete confusion as Daisy began to nudge her excitedly to go back into the house...what in the world was going on?! They both went rushing in and followed the sounds of someone screaming...yet to there complete shock and amazement, it was a woman - apparently the wife of the guy they had threatened at the front door - she was having a baby! And the site was terrible, at least 8 children were running around the place in a panic, and no one seemed to be controlling them but Tiff, and good old Nikki was there helping on the lady.
Daisy began to feel woozy. She hated the sight of babies bursting out their mothers.... bits. How Niki could do it was beyond her. But she was so relieved to have finally found Tiff and Niki! She turned to Rach and smiled, a true smile this time. Tiff collapsed on a couch and gave up on the children. But the children had turned deadly silent and all eyes were on those two people who had just entered the room. One boy pointed in excitement "Look. Look. Look a PIRATE!!!" he yelled over the screams of his mother. He ran into the corner of a room and jumped up and down. Apparently seeing a pirate was very exciting...but scary at the same time. Daisy turned to Rach...neither were too good with children
Rachael rolled her eyes, "What? You ain't never seen a pirate before lad?" She gave the young lad a wink and pulled her coat to one side to reveal the glimmering steel handle of her cutlass. The children gasped and exchanged scared looks with each other. "Don't worry...I'm not 'ere to kill anyone!" Although this didn't really do very much, as they still maintained a shocked look on their faces. "We're 'ere, looking for these two!" She pointed to Tiff and Nikki, and all the children gasped again shouting in unison, "You are pirates too!!" Daisy and Rachael chuckled - clearly Tiff and Nikki needed to work on there pirate 'image' if they were being regarded as common English folk.
Daisy smiled...and then winced. Having babies must be very painful...thank god she'd never have any. She turned to the toddler who was pulling at her trousers and gave her a smile. Children weren't so bad...when they were some one else's. She called over Tiff so they could go outside...the baby's head was poking out and she's rather not watch. The three pirates made their way out into the cold air and immediately Rach and Daisy turned onto Tiff "Where were you? We were waiting! Becky and Matt are dead worried!"
Rachael stood their, listening intently as Daisy continued her lecture to Tiff. "Why did ya wanna help this woman anyway?" Rach had now finally settled on asking a question herself and was rather curious. Tiff sighed and rolled her eyes, "Coz she was havin' a baby o' course! Couldn't just leave her with a husband that's as drunk as us!" Rach and Daisy exchanged interested looks but glanced back to Tiff more seriously, "Yea, but we haven't got time for this..." Tiff interrupted them however, "Ah, but its fro a good cause my dear cap'n. She can't afford to keep all these kids, I mean who could!? So she wants to let her eldest boy out to work full-time somewhere were he can be looked after..." Rach pulled an even more confused face, and so did Daisy. "And what's that gotta do with us?"
Daisy stopped in her tracks. "You mean us?" She said. Tiff nodded. "But we can't look after a kid...no one would know how to start. Matt would have to learn how to cook Mc Donald's for crying out loud!" just then she stopped and realized that Mc Donald's hadn't been invented yet. Rach stood their just shaking her head so Daisy continued, "How old is this boy anyway? Does he know how to work?" Just then a small figure came out from the shadows. "Im good and proper...I...I...I...can work" he said in a small, scared voice. Daisy turned to the boy and got down to his height "Do you get seasick? " she asked. "N..n...n...no" Daisy turned to the two members of her crew. "We could use a cabin boy I guess"
Rachael suddenly realized what Daisy was suggesting and pulled a face, "Him...but - but he has no experience?" Rach thought that it would be almost impossible, even daft! Daisy sighed and put a hand on her shoulder, "Rach, don't worry...its something new - and you've always gotta try, plus we need the extra help." Now she seemed to be off looking at the ceiling, "Rather daft really - daft like Jack" She chuckled and turned back to the boy. The boy stood still and attentive, and Rach shook her head realizing that it couldn't be too bad...could it?"