What's in a Name?

Author's Notes -

Well, I survived. Not that I had too many doubts, but just enough to keep me a ball of nervous energy the last couple of days before hand. But, actually, I had an excellent time at my prom. My date, James, was as great of a guy as ever. And our pictures were excellent, or at least the ones that we've seen so far, I have to send them to a bazillion people, its mad....So, enough about that, though, on with the Thanks and then the story!

Author Thanks:

Piper8188 - Thanks for the review! I can't tell you what's gonna happen, you're gonna have to wait and see. Actually, Christy's father was not named for my prom date. That whole business transpired just in the last couple of weeks. I named Christy's father James because I didn't know of too many older British male names so, I figured that it would have to do. I'm glad you like The Aftermath, its a fun story to write. Hope you like the chapter!

Anaknusan - Thanks for the review! I hope you're mum's well, mine is finally getting better, she's gonna tackle the stairs at school tomorrow, she teaches on the third floor and has been going on the elevator to get up. Hope you like the chappie!

Jeeves Swineford - Thanks for the review. Don't worry about being lazy, I am perpetually lazy, seriously. I have to remind myself to log in...Well, I hope you haven't died from the wait. Hope you like the chappie!

Nev1988 - Thanks for the review (both of them). I hope you continue to enjoy my story!

Mirja - Thanks for the review. She's getting better quite nicely. She and my dad chaperoned prom last night...she sat down most of the evening and the only time she got up from the table, she was gonna talk to me, but I was in the middle of a slow dance with James and she said that we looked so comfortable that she didn't want to interrupt! And she figured I'd never forgive her for it. I probably would have...after some time. I didn't actually intend for it to be a Gandalf moment, it just sort of came to me...do you know what I mean? Its the same when I'm writing poetry, I get inspiration in spurts. No, I don't hate you for calling it such, though. It takes a lot for me to hate someone...just ask my ex. Jeg haper du har en god uke. Nyte kapittelet!

ortain - Thanks for the review! Ask me no questions, I'll tell you no lies. Hope you like the chapter!

TriGemini - Thanks for the review! I hope you like the chapter!

Earth-angel666 - Thanks for the review! Here's more for ya, lol, don't murder me. Hope you like the chapter!

RMB (times 9) - 1) I know he's a creep but it all fixes itself later. Besides pirates wouldn't have treated a hostage like a porcelain doll. 2) Yes, she is a snobby brat, but her entire world is collapsing around her, everyone would act OOC in that situation. 3) I realise that she still is a hot tempered brat, but you have to also consider how people act in strange situations...No, Jack wasn't going to use her or kill her, but think about it, alive, she can lead him to her father's treasure, or at least decipher the clues and dead she couldn't. Yes to both Jack caring for her and her warming up to him. 4) Yeah, they got close but they didn't push her or anything. The Frenchmen are very easy to hate, I hate them and I wrote them. 5) I am sorry that you cried, but I am glad that you appreciate the amount of thought that I had to put into writing something so sensitive...I cried while I wrote it...which is wicked crazy if you think about it. 6) Thanks! The pet names are really cute...I think they could win anyone over. He's a man and a pirate and pirates "don't love" so that's why he has trouble with it. 7) Sorry, couldn't have everything be perfect, I had to throw in a major plot twist otherwise it would be too perfect and sadly for us, nothing ever is. I love Jack too...I've fallen in love with thim as I write it...even more than I did when I saw the movie...crazy thing, huh? 8) Yep, he knows now. No, she doesn't remember him, she thought that she might but she doesn't. I debated on whether or not to make her remember him but I figured it would be far too coincidental if she did. 9) How come he couldn't teach the girl the ins and outs of ships? Just think about Ana-Maria.....Okay, now that that's over, a huge thank you for your reviews. I can't believe that you've read my entire story in less than a day or how ever long it took you. I really hope that you read this otherwise I'll cry because its taken soooo long to type and I'm about half unconscious from prom...so, Enjoy the next chapter!

A-J Sparrow - Thanks for the review mate! Enjoy!

completeopposites - Thanks! Enjoy!

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What's in a Name?

Last Time:

I smiled. "Oh, I know. And its not like we'll never see each other again. I just wish he had the chance to give my mum a run for her money by chasing after all the girls! Let him be the one she was so exasperated with!"

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What's in a Name?

Chapter 24: Port Royale

The remainder of the day passed easily. I remained in Jack's cabin while he steered the Pearl and spent my time reading and catching up on lost sleep. Deep down in my heart, I knew I was home and that everywhere else I went in the world probably wouldn't feel like it fit quite as well as this did.

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Jack didn't press the issue of leaving me in Port Royale. He was oddly silent about the entire notion, so silent that I was growing slightly apprehensive about it. I knew that he had something up his sleeve. He treated me the same but he made sure to keep his maps out of my sight when they were on the desk. That in itself gave me grounds for suspicion. Plus the fact that the Pearl was definitely sailing somewhere with genuine purpose was starting to wear on me. But I didn't say anything unless my suspicions were incorrect.

Colin was always there for me too, both as a big brother (in a sense) and also as a peer. He knew a great deal more than anyone gave him credit for and when some of the crew fell ill to an odd illness, Colin opted to care for them, rather than expose me to a sickness. And while I thoroughly disagreed with being kept from doing something that I was good at, both he and Jack raised good points...I couldn't afford to get sick...even though I hated being treated like a china doll. Every time that the morning sickness hit, Jack was there, holding onto me while I made my own donation to the sea. And every odd food craving I got at all hours of the night, Colin always seemed to have what I needed...which was an enormous comfort.

A month after my rescue, I was in the galley when I heard a cry of 'Land ho' filtering down from the crow's nest. I ran pell-mell up to the helm. Jack was steering...as usual. I saw an island in view and my heart sunk. I mentally kicked myself, I had noticed that the weather was getting slightly warmer...why didn't I put two and two together?

Trying to keep calm, I asked, "Jack, what island is that?"

Jack looked down at his compass for a moment. "Tortuga."

"Why are we here? What are we doing back in the Caribbean?" I persisted.

"We're not stopping, love, we're just passing by on our way to Port Royale," Jack said in an almost abashed sounding voice.

My bubble of barely restrained fury popped and my hand whipped back to smack Jack. It collided with his face with a satisfying 'SMACK.' I was about to smack him again when he caught my wrist in a tight grip. I struggled to break free but couldn't. Instead, I shot icicles at him with my eyes. "How dare you. I can't believe that you're leaving me after everything that's happened," I whispered coldly.

"I'm not risking your neck again, Christy. I did that once and I'm not doing it again," Jack said in a soothing voice...he still hadn't released my wrist.

I continued to glare at him...I appreciated the concern but I didn't want it...feeling reckless, I proceeded to tell him this.

Jack laughed. "Darling, you're too good to be on a pirate ship for all of your life. You deserve a chance to have friends, to have memories, to live. You deserve better than this."

I closed my eyes briefly. The bright sun shone through my eyelids, making purple and blue dots on the blackness. "I don't want better. You're all I need, Jack. I don't need anything else but this."

"You'd change your tune after you'd have spent all you're life on a ship and missed out on the finer things in life. You'd regret it later," Jack said wearily.

I yanked my hand out of Jack's grasp and stared fiercely out at the sea. "What makes you think that I wouldn't want this for the rest of my life?" I asked stubbornly before turning away.

"What about this?" Jack asked, drawing me back to him and placing one hand on my abdomen.

"What makes you think that our child can't be born on the sea?"

Jack drew me into his arms, keeping my back against him. "Do you really want your baby to grow up on the sea? Do you really want to even have the child on the sea? What if there were problems? What if you needed a doctor? No one on the Pearl knows enough about having a baby to be of any help to you. Ye could loose the baby or die yourself. Do ye want that?"

I tilted my head back and glared at him more...but I didn't have an argument for that. I hadn't really thought of what would happen to my child...our child...if I were to stay. "Fine. But that doesn't mean I like it..." I said mulishly.

Jack spun me around and captured my mouth in a passionate kiss. I melted in his grasp...as usual. I could hear comments from the crew before Gibbs told them to get back to work. I smiled into Jack's lips and he nudged open my lips, gaining access for his tongue. I sighed contently as we lost total track of time. When we finally pulled apart, we were both panting for breath as though we had been running for hours on end.

"Definitely not happy about it," I murmured, leaning my forehead against Jack's.

"Go to me cabin," Jack said into my ear before lightly pushing me away from him.

I went obediently and waited by the window for him to return.

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After what seemed an eternity of waiting, the door opened and Jack strode in. He kissed me briefly before moving to his sea chest. I stared out the window and listened as he rummaged in it for a while and then pulled something out. I heard his footsteps come back over. Something went around my neck and I felt Jack fumbling with the fastenings of a necklace. My hand drifted up and brought the necklace into my line of vision.

I gasped. "Its gorgeous," I whispered before kissing Jack appreciatively.

The necklace that he had given me was a silver chain with four black pearls on either side of five pearls mounted on a small silver medallion. To be brief, it was stunning.

"What's it for?" I asked breathlessly.

"To remember me," Jack said before taking my lips in his once more.

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The week before we reached Port Royale passed shockingly fast. The day before we reached the city I spent almost entirely with Jack. I cried. I'm not ashamed to admit it. I didn't want to leave him. But I knew what was best...even though I despised it.

Jack and I talked most of the day. We did...other things, as well, but most of the time, we talked. I sat up most of the night, watching him sleep. Myself, I wasn't tired in the slightest. Jack was boring when he slept, I discovered, he didn't talk or hardly even move...but he was no less handsome when he slept than he was awake. Sometime before dawn, I drifted asleep, my head on Jack's chest, blissfully aware of his heartbeat.

When I woke, I had a sick sensation in the pit of my stomach and not just from the morning sickness, this was nerves getting the better of me, I knew it. Jack was awake already and was gazing down at me. I kissed him passionately, relishing the sensation...not knowing how many more of such kisses I would get to have again.

Before we could break apart, the call of 'Land ho!' sounded and I could hear Gibbs give the orders to make ready to dock.

Jack kissed me fiercely before pulling away and saying softly, "Its time, love."

I nodded and watched as he strode from the room.

Dully, I made my way down to the galley.

Without bothering to announce myself, I hugged Colin tightly. He looked down at me smiling and said, "I'll miss ye, lass. Yer a good gal. I be glad I got to know ye."

I sniffed as tears flowed freely from my eyes. I looked up at Colin, who was slightly blurry from the tears streaming down my face, and said, "You're a great friend, Colin. You kept me sane when without your help, I wouldn't have made it. I won't forget you."

Colin ruffled my hair and said, "Be careful, Miss Christy."

"Same to you, Colin. Come and see me sometime, please. I don't know where I'll be, but I'm sure Jack can tell you."

Colin nodded. "Consider it done."

I smiled and wiped the tears from my face briskly. "You're one of the best friends I've ever had, Colin Lewis. I'll hold you in a special place in my heart," I said before hugging Colin one final time and leaving the galley quietly.

The bright sunshine and heat of the air accosted me as I strode out onto deck. Jack had already docked the Pearl. We were a ways away from the town, apparently, there was an exceptionally ambitious commodore who was out for Jack's head.

I walked over to the helm where Jack was and grabbed my small sackel of belongings that I had acquired during my stay on the Pearl. Mainly, it consisted of a few pairs of extra trousers and shirts that I had liberated from Colin and Jack. But also in it were the papers from the cave, the comb from the innkeeper's wife and the paper that I wrote my poem on. Throwing it over my shoulder, I gazed lovingly at the Pearl before grabbing onto Jack's elbow and following him off the ship. My knees buckled when we stepped off...I had had sea legs for too long to easily give them up again, I suppose. Jack laughed and pulled me up, keeping one arm around my waist for additional support.

I followed Jack up a winding trail that led to a large white house on the top of a hill. It was huge! I thought, on first glance, that it had to be almost twice the size of my house in London and that was simply shocking. Jack glanced back at me and chuckled at the look on my face. "Yeah," he said quietly. "Its all theirs."

"Oh my," I said quietly. My jaw had dropped down to my collarbone. "They must be--"

"Very rich," Jack finished.

I nodded.

Jack led me up the path and we came upon the back entrance of the home. Jack knocked loudly as I stood in the background, hoping not to be noticed. Soon the door opened slowly to reveal a maid. She looked terrified, to say the least. I could understand how, of course, its not every day that an unknown pirate shows up at the back door of the home that one works at.

"Is your mistress home?" he asked kindly, I could hear the smile in his voice, even if I wasn't seeing it.

She nodded slightly.

Jack grabbed my arm and pulled me past the girl into the house.

I jerked my head back as he pulled me gently away, "I'm terribly sorry!"

Jack led me to a room...I assumed it was a sitting room. A young couple sat, deep in conversation, on the chairs near the fire. They must have thought that we were maids or something, because they didn't turn around at the sounds of our footsteps.

After they continued conversing for nearly a minute or more, Jack cleared his throat noisily, "Well, whelp, if I had known I would get this type of a welcome, I wouldn't have come at all."

The couple whirled around, looking as though they had been whispering of the devil only to have him appear on their doorstep.

"Jack! What are you doing here?" the woman asked as they stood and greeted Jack with hugs and a kiss on the cheek, from the woman of course.

I stood nearly right behind Jack, gazing anxiously at the couple before me. The man was slightly shorter than Jack and had dark brown hair. He had tark brown eyes and a sculpted body. The woman beside him was shorter by about four inches, had light brown hair, hazel eyes and a kind smile playing across her face. She was beautiful, in short.

Jack pulled me forward gently by my elbow and said, "Love, this is Will and Elizabeth Turner. And this, Will and Elizabeth, is Christina Delcot."

I dropped into an automatic curtsey but faltered when I realized I wasn't wearing skirts. Smiling at my own error, I nodded politely.

Will reached for my hand and brushed a chaste kiss on my knuckles. "It is a pleasure, miss."

I smiled and blushed slightly before I withdrew my hand slowly, "Thank you, Mister Turner."

"Miss Delcot," Elizabeth said, drawing my attention. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

I nodded and said, "Thank you, Missus Turner. You have a beautiful home."

"Thank you. So, Jack, what have you been up to, lately?" Elizabeth asked.

"Oh, you know, Liz. Little of everything," Jack replied simply.

"Let's sit down, shall we?" Will suggested.

Everyone agreed and I followed slightly behind them, soaking up all that I saw. The house was enormous! Everything looked terribly expensive. My eyes must have been as big as sauce plates.

The Turners led us to a parlour off the hall and asked us to sit down. Then, they asked the maids to bring some tea. A part of my mind that wasn't dulled with shock, realized how polite they were to everyone, even the servants. Once we had our tea...and Jack's rum...the question was once again raised as to what Jack had been up to lately. Jack told them the story of everything...well, mostly everything...that had happened since he picked me up. I watched as the Turner's eyes got wider and wider as Jack spoke.

When Jack finally finished, there were a few moments of extremely awkward silence. Nervously, I wrung my hands, wondering what would happen next. I noticed the Turners kept glancing at me and I felt exceptionally uncomfortable.

Finally, Mrs. Turner broke the silence. "Well, Miss Delcot, would you like to freshen up before dinner?"

I nodded. "That would be excellent, Mrs. Turner."

Mrs. Turner smiled graciously and replied, "Oh, please. Call me Elizabeth. Mrs. Turner reminds me of someone's mother."

I smiled and stood up with Elizabeth. Mr. Turner...Will...stood up with me. 'How refreshing,' I thought. 'No one has done that for me since I left England.' As I followed Elizabeth out of the room, I said, "Please, then Elizabeth, call me Christina or Christy...everyone else does, anyway. I haven't been called by my surname for quite a while.

I followed Elizabeth into the hall and gazed in awe at the enormity of the home. As we left, I could hear snatches of Jack and Will's conversation. I longed to return and listen but I knew that I couldn't.

As we walked, Elizabeth chattered happily about this and that. With my shocked mind, I only comprehended about half of what she said. Elizabeth took me to a bedroom and quickly crossed to the bureau.

Her back turned, she said, "Tomorrow, I'll take you shopping. But I'm afraid that this will have to do for the time being." As she spoke, she crossed back over to me and held up a dress.

I smiled broadly. "Thank you. I really appreciate the kindness that you and your husband have shown me...especially since we just met and since we came unannounced," I said politely.

"It's not a problem, Christina. You are most welcome here. If you'll follow me, I'll show you to the washroom. I daresay you would like to freshen up."

I grinned again. "You have no idea how appealing that sounds."

Elizabeth studied me for a moment. "Are you all right? If Jack told us even half of what happened, it sounds as though you've been through quite an ordeal," she asked kindly.

I nodded. "Oh, yes. I'm fine. Just a bit tired, is all. Its been an interesting day, to say the least..." I said carefully wording my sentence.

Elizabeth watched me carefully. "Well, if you need anything...even to talk, you come find me. But in the mean time, if you'll follow me, I'll show you to the washroom."

I followed Elizabeth out of the room and down to the washroom. She set me up with towels and such and then told me to meet them back in the parlour when I was ready.

I thanked her graciously before closing and locking the door. I walked over to the tray of bath soaps and looked eagerly at the different types that Elizabeth had had laid out for me. Grinning broadly, I poured one into the tub and then eagerly climbed into the blissfully warm water, feeling much more relaxed.

When I emerged from the tub, I quickly dried and put on the gown that Elizabeth had loaned me...after my hair had dried a bit. The gown was exceptionally ornate, I imagined it must have cost a fortune. It was a dark red dress with gold embroidery on the bodice and hems. Elizabeth being taller than me, the gown trailed behind me as I stood, admiring it in the full-length mirror. By the time I left the washroom, my hair had already dried...the air in Port Royale had worked its magic on it.

I quickly found the parlour but when I heard a conversation inside, I paused before entering. Will, Elizabeth and Jack's conversation drifted out as if the door was open completely. And to my not so great astonishment, they were talking about me.

"Where did you get her, Jack?" I heard Will ask.

"I picked her up on a ship heading from London to Port Royale a couple months ago," Jack said.

"You picked her up off a ship heading from London?" A long pause and then, "Please, don't tell me that is Christina Smit..." Will said.

"Its Christina Delcot, actually. But yes, I did."

"Oh, Jack. Rumours were flying around town. Her father was one of the wealthiest people in London! Everyone heard about it," Will muttered.

"But that ship had no survivors! What happened?" Elizabeth asked shrilly.

"Extenuating circumstances led to her ending up in my charge, savvy?" Jack said briefly.

"Jack," Will said slowly. "But you've kept her for all this time? Its been nearly eight months! And you got her pregnant?! How the hell did that happen?"

"What did you expect me to do, mate, kill her?" Jack asked sounding less- than-amused.

"But, Jack, she's got to be younger than me! I mean it, Jack, this isn't good," Elizabeth cried.

I decided that now was a good time to re-enter, before the Turners could finish interrogating Jack. "Thank you, Mrs. Turner."

"Not a problem..." Elizabeth said, blushing slightly from being overheard but still not breaking her stare at Jack.

Will was watching me carefully with an unreadable expression on his face.

Jack whistled low, his eyes taking in my new outfit. "It suits you, darling."

Will threw a cushion at Jack, who deflected it without breaking his gaze with me.

I bit my lip slightly as I walked to a chair. I could feel the heat of all their eyes burning into me as I walked. It felt like it took an eternity for me to reach the chair...

"So, Miss Delcot, you managed to survive eight months with this scoundrel? That is an amazing feat! I made it an evening before I burnt all his rum," Elizabeth said, laughter dancing merrily in her eyes.

I jerked my gaze over to Jack, he was covering his ears and muttered, "Yes, you had to burn the rum and you have to keep reminding, don't you, you bloody woman."

I laughed freely at this. "And you should have seen him when I hid his rum...must have been having flashbacks, eh, Jack?"

Jack nodded feebly and I laughed once more, joined by Will and Elizabeth. Then the butler came and informed Mr. and Mrs. Turner that dinner was ready.

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Author's Notes -

Well? I hope that was a satisfactory chapter for all of you. Those of you hoping for Will and Elizabeth, there you go....So, I shoudl update by this time next week, unless something comes up...but I would plan on another chapter within the week. So, I hope you all have a great week and I hope you had as good of a weekend as I did... sigh Although I must admit, I was soooo nervous, I was telling a friend that it was messed up because I can lead groups of kids on canoeing trips that I've never ever met before and probably won't see ever again and yet I can not go to a dance with a guy while wearing a dress and makeup without going spastic...(I typically don't wear either of those unless I have to)...but it turned out fine...now all I have to do is figure out a way to get my hair out of all these bloody bobby pins...my friend did it for me and its adorable...our pics were so great, if I could, I'd post them on my friends website but my dad hasn't uploaded them yet...or I'd put them on ff.net...i dunnno, but I wanna show them off, they're adorable! Anywho...

Check out POTC: The Aftermath. Its a great story written by my best mate Weasley Girl and myself under The Quidditch Gals and it needs attention...

I think that's all for now...

Mange Klemmar

CrazyCanoeingGIT