AN: WAAAIIII!!! Christmas break!! Yessss!! I should be posting more
often. Um, except for the fact that this chapter marks the end of the
stuff I've written in my notebook. From here on out, I play it by ear.
There isn't much action in this chapter, but I REALLY like it. It's possibly the funniest chapter so far. But other than funnyness and feel- good-ness, this chapter is all about the character development, especially in the three girls and Ana's family.
Disclaimer - Same as the Prologue. Just click the back button and save yourself the trouble of suing me.
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Chapter 11 - Roger Warren
It was two days before Jack, Will, Tiger and Gibbs were able to round up a crew for the Bluehawk. When they finally were finished with inspection on the morning of the third day, they decided to go out and celebrate before returning to bring the White girls back to the ship.
Consequently, all four were utterly drunk by noon. And that's when they decided to walk back to Anamaria's. Well, Tiger was walking. Jack's gait was a bit sloppier than usual, and he was walking backwards, telling the rest some wild tale of his adventures and gesticulating madly. Will was laughing so hard he could barely see straight, let alone walk straight, and Gibbs was not only laughing and stumbling about but holding a hung-over head, as he had been drunk the night before as well. Tiger, who had a high alcohol tolerance, didn't drink much, and had heard the story before, was doing his level best to keep them all going in the right direction.
Of course, it wasn't long before Jack finished his tale and started a rousing chorus of "A Pirate's Life for Me". And that is what they were singing when the finally made it back to the Warren household.
The children, who, as usual, had been up at the crack of dawn, were playing Tag in the yard. Gina was in the front yard, exasperated, trying to stop the raucous noise created by the half-dozen yelling, screaming kids. Something was different about her. It took Tiger a second to figure it out.
Strapped to her waist were a pair of flintlock pistols.
Tiger blinked. No, they were still there. Gina. Wearing a WEAPON. Gina. Sweet, prissy little Gina.
Not only that, but she looked comfortable with them. They had only been gone two days - what the hell happened?
Now Tiger noticed the other changes in Gina. The maroon dress had been replaced by a dusky rose muslin. Only one petticoat, and no corset to speak of. Her stiff canvas shoes had been replaced by soft leather heels. But also, Gina held herself differently. She looked more sure of herself. And whenever she stood up straight, her hands found their way to her sides, to rest on the brace of pistols.
Of course, the three alcoholics hadn't noticed anything. Will merely flashed her a sly, if slightly drunken, smile as he passed. Gina pursed her lips and glared, in obvious disapproval.
"Don't do that, luv." Jack commented. "Ye look like yer mother."
Gina stared in amazement as they entered the house.
* * *
Meanwhile, Carol and Ana's eldest daughter Samantha had, for some unfathomable reason, decided to try to teach Mary to bake. Teacakes, specifically. It wasn't going very well.
"No! Mary, don't BEAT the batter, FOLD it!! Like this." Samantha demonstrated carefully. But Mary wasn't paying attention. She had been woken up several times during the night by one child or another. They had all adopted her, it seemed, and thus she had had barely four hours of sleep. Giddy, tired, and full of adrenaline, Mary was getting positively silly.
Mary's entire outlook had been drastically changed by her weekend at the Warren's. She was the only one of the sisters who had shed her skirts entirely, and was now dressed in a cream-colored fencer's shirt and a pair of forest green breeches tucked into a pair of Samantha's old brown leather knee-boots. Her long, flame-red hair was held back in a thick braid, and a beautifully made, gold-inlaid cutlass was belted low on her hips. She looked very swashbuckling, and FELT very swashbuckling, and was thus swashing her buckle with anything she could get her hands on - right now, a wooden spoon. Carol reached over and took it from her.
Carol was different, as well. She was dressed in a simpler, dark blue dress, entirely without petticoats, and her shoes had been replaced with low boots. The ensemble was completed by a black leather jerkin James had recently grown out of. Hung from her side was an elegant rapier, the swept hand guard polished to a high sheen.
"Mary, will you PLEASE cooperate?" Carol asked. Samantha giggled. Mary threw up her hands in frustration.
"Face it, you two, I'll never figure it out."
"You should have been born a man." Samantha commented wisely. Carol rolled her eyes, but Mary threw her nose in the air.
"I'm better than ANY man. And prettier, too." She said. There was a pause, then all three girls burst out laughing.
Ana chose that moment to enter, little baby Samuel in her arms.
"Really, you three, you're worse than the children." She handed Samuel to his sister. "Here. He needs feeding." Samantha grimaced, but set to work.
That was when they heard the singing.
"We're Devils, and black sheep, and really bad eggs . . ."
Carol, Samantha and Mary watched in amazement as four men, drunk in varying degrees, stumbled into the house. Ana just sighed.
"Well, you four are a sight to see." Jack swayed his way over to her.
"Drink up, me hearties . . . Yo ho!!"
Ana wrinkled her nose at the pungent smell of rum on his breath.
"Jack, don't you ever get tired of that stuff? Whenever you're in town you get drunk of your ass and fall asleep on my floor."
Jack smiled at her knowingly, placing an unsteady finger alongside his nose.
"Ah, but what a lovely floor it is! . . . whoa."
Jack swayed, then pitched forward and toppled into Ana, dragging her down to the floor. Once his eyes refocused, he smirked down at the woman under him, his hair falling wildly about his face.
"Well, now. THIS is a compromising position."
Ana glared up at him, his weight causing her breath to come short.
"Would you kindly remove yourself from my person?" Her voice carried ice. Jack seemed to think for a moment before shaking his head slowly.
"No, lass. You're more comfortable than the floor. I think I may fall 'sleep right here. . ." he said with a small yawn. He slumped forward, eyes closed, ignoring the panicked look on Ana's face as she fought to breathe - Jack wasn't exactly light. "Jack Sparrow, what the HELL are you doing on top of my wife?"
The voice was low, booming and imperious. Jack, however, was unimpressed. He lazily opened one eye.
Towering over him, giving him a look that would have set a lesser man screaming in terror, was six and a half feet of smooth black muscle.
Jack grinned, closing his eye.
"Roger, you know as well as I that the only reason she married you and not me was because you're richer."
Captain Roger Warren rolled his eyes and reached down, hauling Jack off his wife by the scruff of his neck. Lifting the smaller man to eye level, he gave him a look.
"And more sober." he retorted. Jack smiled as Roger set him down.
Ana stood up, calmly brushed herself off, then reared back and slapped Jack with all her strength. Jack reeled, nearly hitting the floor again.
Will grinned and leaned close to him.
"I think you deserved that, mate."
----------------------------------------------
Thanks again to my reviewers!
Blood-Covered-Ivory: And now . . . it has been continued. *bows*
u-ne-korn: Don't forget, Jack's crew was there to help. And no, I'm not done explaining yet. There is more. Oh, yes, there is. But you'll just have to wait and find out, like everybody else.
Tazz: Lookie, I posted!! Now, it's you're turn!! *glare*
Shannon*Black: I have continued. Tell me what you think!
HyPErAcTiVeChyLDe: eh, I know how it is. You should see me late at night when I'm pumped up on sugar. Not a happy sight. I'm glad you're enjoying this.
Maritza: Wow, what a compliment. ^.^ This one made my day. I'm glad you're enjoying it.
And here is the part of every fic where I threaten to poke you with big, sharp, pointy sticks until you review. So here goes.
I will poke you with big, sharp, pointy sticks until you review. REVIEW!!
There isn't much action in this chapter, but I REALLY like it. It's possibly the funniest chapter so far. But other than funnyness and feel- good-ness, this chapter is all about the character development, especially in the three girls and Ana's family.
Disclaimer - Same as the Prologue. Just click the back button and save yourself the trouble of suing me.
-------------------------------
Chapter 11 - Roger Warren
It was two days before Jack, Will, Tiger and Gibbs were able to round up a crew for the Bluehawk. When they finally were finished with inspection on the morning of the third day, they decided to go out and celebrate before returning to bring the White girls back to the ship.
Consequently, all four were utterly drunk by noon. And that's when they decided to walk back to Anamaria's. Well, Tiger was walking. Jack's gait was a bit sloppier than usual, and he was walking backwards, telling the rest some wild tale of his adventures and gesticulating madly. Will was laughing so hard he could barely see straight, let alone walk straight, and Gibbs was not only laughing and stumbling about but holding a hung-over head, as he had been drunk the night before as well. Tiger, who had a high alcohol tolerance, didn't drink much, and had heard the story before, was doing his level best to keep them all going in the right direction.
Of course, it wasn't long before Jack finished his tale and started a rousing chorus of "A Pirate's Life for Me". And that is what they were singing when the finally made it back to the Warren household.
The children, who, as usual, had been up at the crack of dawn, were playing Tag in the yard. Gina was in the front yard, exasperated, trying to stop the raucous noise created by the half-dozen yelling, screaming kids. Something was different about her. It took Tiger a second to figure it out.
Strapped to her waist were a pair of flintlock pistols.
Tiger blinked. No, they were still there. Gina. Wearing a WEAPON. Gina. Sweet, prissy little Gina.
Not only that, but she looked comfortable with them. They had only been gone two days - what the hell happened?
Now Tiger noticed the other changes in Gina. The maroon dress had been replaced by a dusky rose muslin. Only one petticoat, and no corset to speak of. Her stiff canvas shoes had been replaced by soft leather heels. But also, Gina held herself differently. She looked more sure of herself. And whenever she stood up straight, her hands found their way to her sides, to rest on the brace of pistols.
Of course, the three alcoholics hadn't noticed anything. Will merely flashed her a sly, if slightly drunken, smile as he passed. Gina pursed her lips and glared, in obvious disapproval.
"Don't do that, luv." Jack commented. "Ye look like yer mother."
Gina stared in amazement as they entered the house.
* * *
Meanwhile, Carol and Ana's eldest daughter Samantha had, for some unfathomable reason, decided to try to teach Mary to bake. Teacakes, specifically. It wasn't going very well.
"No! Mary, don't BEAT the batter, FOLD it!! Like this." Samantha demonstrated carefully. But Mary wasn't paying attention. She had been woken up several times during the night by one child or another. They had all adopted her, it seemed, and thus she had had barely four hours of sleep. Giddy, tired, and full of adrenaline, Mary was getting positively silly.
Mary's entire outlook had been drastically changed by her weekend at the Warren's. She was the only one of the sisters who had shed her skirts entirely, and was now dressed in a cream-colored fencer's shirt and a pair of forest green breeches tucked into a pair of Samantha's old brown leather knee-boots. Her long, flame-red hair was held back in a thick braid, and a beautifully made, gold-inlaid cutlass was belted low on her hips. She looked very swashbuckling, and FELT very swashbuckling, and was thus swashing her buckle with anything she could get her hands on - right now, a wooden spoon. Carol reached over and took it from her.
Carol was different, as well. She was dressed in a simpler, dark blue dress, entirely without petticoats, and her shoes had been replaced with low boots. The ensemble was completed by a black leather jerkin James had recently grown out of. Hung from her side was an elegant rapier, the swept hand guard polished to a high sheen.
"Mary, will you PLEASE cooperate?" Carol asked. Samantha giggled. Mary threw up her hands in frustration.
"Face it, you two, I'll never figure it out."
"You should have been born a man." Samantha commented wisely. Carol rolled her eyes, but Mary threw her nose in the air.
"I'm better than ANY man. And prettier, too." She said. There was a pause, then all three girls burst out laughing.
Ana chose that moment to enter, little baby Samuel in her arms.
"Really, you three, you're worse than the children." She handed Samuel to his sister. "Here. He needs feeding." Samantha grimaced, but set to work.
That was when they heard the singing.
"We're Devils, and black sheep, and really bad eggs . . ."
Carol, Samantha and Mary watched in amazement as four men, drunk in varying degrees, stumbled into the house. Ana just sighed.
"Well, you four are a sight to see." Jack swayed his way over to her.
"Drink up, me hearties . . . Yo ho!!"
Ana wrinkled her nose at the pungent smell of rum on his breath.
"Jack, don't you ever get tired of that stuff? Whenever you're in town you get drunk of your ass and fall asleep on my floor."
Jack smiled at her knowingly, placing an unsteady finger alongside his nose.
"Ah, but what a lovely floor it is! . . . whoa."
Jack swayed, then pitched forward and toppled into Ana, dragging her down to the floor. Once his eyes refocused, he smirked down at the woman under him, his hair falling wildly about his face.
"Well, now. THIS is a compromising position."
Ana glared up at him, his weight causing her breath to come short.
"Would you kindly remove yourself from my person?" Her voice carried ice. Jack seemed to think for a moment before shaking his head slowly.
"No, lass. You're more comfortable than the floor. I think I may fall 'sleep right here. . ." he said with a small yawn. He slumped forward, eyes closed, ignoring the panicked look on Ana's face as she fought to breathe - Jack wasn't exactly light. "Jack Sparrow, what the HELL are you doing on top of my wife?"
The voice was low, booming and imperious. Jack, however, was unimpressed. He lazily opened one eye.
Towering over him, giving him a look that would have set a lesser man screaming in terror, was six and a half feet of smooth black muscle.
Jack grinned, closing his eye.
"Roger, you know as well as I that the only reason she married you and not me was because you're richer."
Captain Roger Warren rolled his eyes and reached down, hauling Jack off his wife by the scruff of his neck. Lifting the smaller man to eye level, he gave him a look.
"And more sober." he retorted. Jack smiled as Roger set him down.
Ana stood up, calmly brushed herself off, then reared back and slapped Jack with all her strength. Jack reeled, nearly hitting the floor again.
Will grinned and leaned close to him.
"I think you deserved that, mate."
----------------------------------------------
Thanks again to my reviewers!
Blood-Covered-Ivory: And now . . . it has been continued. *bows*
u-ne-korn: Don't forget, Jack's crew was there to help. And no, I'm not done explaining yet. There is more. Oh, yes, there is. But you'll just have to wait and find out, like everybody else.
Tazz: Lookie, I posted!! Now, it's you're turn!! *glare*
Shannon*Black: I have continued. Tell me what you think!
HyPErAcTiVeChyLDe: eh, I know how it is. You should see me late at night when I'm pumped up on sugar. Not a happy sight. I'm glad you're enjoying this.
Maritza: Wow, what a compliment. ^.^ This one made my day. I'm glad you're enjoying it.
And here is the part of every fic where I threaten to poke you with big, sharp, pointy sticks until you review. So here goes.
I will poke you with big, sharp, pointy sticks until you review. REVIEW!!