A/N - Sorry, it's been way too long. I've finally got some time to sit down
and update both of my stories.
Jupiter's Light - Definitely doomed, yes.
Bobo3 - Thanks! I'll certainly try to keep people reading. Yeah it is nice to have people give you recognition for stuff you've written. I also like it when people point out stuff that doesn't work.
Reese Sparrow - Thank you! I'm glad you liked it.
Kyesha - Jack's already looking around for a therapist, I'm sure just at the mention of children. Thank you very much!
BrkLnLady - Whoo hoo I love cliffhangers! I'm glad you're able to see Jack's character; I'm worried that I'm not getting it right.
GooseLives - Thank you, I consider that a compliment after reading your story. No need to get irrational, here's an update ; P
Annie Lindsay sat impatiently waiting for Sally to get on with her story. She knew that Sally was ill, and had been for some time. She half expected Sally to ask her to take her children and raise them, but she didn't know why this scoundrel Sparrow was here. At the moment Sparrow was longingly gazing at the bottles lined up behind the bar counter. He kept licking his lips and practically drooling. Annie shook her head and looked expectantly at Sally.
"It's like this," Sally took a swallow of water and waited for her coughing to die down.
"I'll be blunt with ye Annie. I'm not going to be around much longer. I've asked Jack to take the kids with him and find them decent homes." Annie felt her eyes widen in shock and horror. Jack was grinning at her smugly.
"ARE YE DAFT WOMAN?" Sally listened to Annie rant for a few moments before holding up a hand that was shaking slightly. Annie calmed down, but she was breathing heavily and her face was flushed.
"I want ye to go with them, make sure they're PROPERLY looked after," Sally said with a pointed look at Jack. Jack gave her a wide-eyed smile that was supposed to be angelic, but was ruined by his flashing gold teeth.
"You're mad," Annie whispered, clutching Gwen to her bosom, inhaling the sweet baby scent. Sally shook her head and her shoulders slumped.
"I don't want them raised in Tortuga, Annie. They will amount to naught if they are. Turn into a bloody pirate and a whore, most likely. No offense Jack." Jack clasped his hands together and bowed at her fluidly.
"None taken, love."
"You say you don't want them to become pirates, but you're willing to bloody well let them be taken away by one!" Sally smiled tiredly at Annie.
"Jack's an old friend, Annie. Whatever he did to your sister, he has done nothing but good to me. I have known him almost my whole life." Annie was silenced by that news and glared at Jack through eyelids narrowed into slits. She didn't like this one bit, but by God she wasn't going to let this pirate take these innocent babes away with no one to protect them.
"I'm going," she stated flatly. Sally's eyes brightened and Jack's face paled. He already had a woman on board who was less than impressed with him. Anna Maria would either welcome Annie Lindsay or make her life a living Hell. He rationalized that at least he wouldn't be the one looking after the children and this cheered him.
"Wonderful, drinks all around!" Annie rolled her eyes at him and glowered. Sally leaned over and gave Annie a slight hug. She felt weak, and wanted to go home.
"When are we leaving?" Annie directed her question at Sally, but it was Jack who answered, having risen and headed towards the bar. Snagging a bottle that was left on the counter, he snuck it into an inside pocket of his coat and turned around.
"Well love, the crew should be gathering at the ship by mid- afternoon. The sooner we leave the better. Don't like to stay in one place for too long, savvy?" Annie almost lashed out at him, to make him put the bottle back, but she lost her anger in a cloud of worry. She had much to do before she left.
"Fine, meet me back here before you go to your ship. I have to let the owner know that I won't be working here anymore." Jack shrugged and then nodded before sauntering over to Sally. Helping her stand up, Annie was taken aback to see the concern that flashed in his dark eyes.
The pair left the tavern then, the two children in tow. Annie rose, suddenly exhausted. She stretched and groaned slightly at a crick in her back before finishing her morning routine of sweeping the floor. Angus Shaw, the tavern keeper would NOT be happy about her leaving.
Her mind wandered back to when her sister Laoghaire was enamored with Jack Sparrow. 'Captain' she corrected herself silently with a sneer. Laoghaire had managed to get caught up in the disgusting profession of a streetwalker. One that Annie never condoned, and would always try to talk her out of. But Laoghaire was beautiful, and young. She had a sultry way about her that Annie could never match. Where Laoghaire was playful and flirty, Annie was quiet and guarded.
Laoghaire had fallen hard for the odd pirate captain. The two had had an 'understanding' which Jack had apparently thought would suffice never taking into account that a woman's feelings were far more delicate than a man's most of the time. It didn't take much to hurt Laoghaire, a fact that was bizarre given her rough profession. Annie had fast grown tired of seeing Laoghaire mope around waiting for The Black Pearl to pull into Tortuga's port. Time and time again the girl would go racing down to the bay when a ship was sighted only to return, downcast and weepy.
When it was certain that Jack wasn't going to return for a long time, and there were reports of him being abandoned or even dead, Laoghaire had finally gotten over the man. But a part of her was always his, and she was still given to moody fits at the mere mention of his name. A young pirate who decided to go legit had finally gotten her attention and had taken her off to the colonies. The letter's Annie got from the Americas gave her hope that her sister was doing well.
Tossing the broom blindly against the wall, she clattered up the wooden stairs in the back to the small, windowless chamber that she called home. There wasn't much there, there hadn't been much to begin with. She methodically began folding up her chemise's and shifts, skirts, blouses, stockings and other clothes. She had few personal possessions, the letters from Laoghaire, a necklace given to her by her long deceased mother, and a ring given to her by the one man she had loved dearly.
Annie closed her eyes and held the ring to her chest protectively. Funny thing about pirates, for all the dirty scoundrels there were always a few who were witty, handsome and dashing. Like Jack Sparrow, she thought bitterly. Her Connor Riley had been such a pirate. Not a captain, but a first mate on a ship. He had come often to Tortuga and each time had always brought her little nothings that she had treasured as the richest of gifts.
"Annie, my bonnie lass," he would always say to her in his rich, Irish brogue. He would always talk to her of Ireland, a land she had never seen, and how he would come for her one day and they would be off to live on the coast of his beloved island. The night he had given her the ring, he had promised the next time he came back, it would be to take her away with him.
Except he had never come back. Annie wasn't sure if he had been fooling her all along or if something horrible had happened to him. She was almost certain that it was the latter and not the former. Connor Riley had seemed like the honest type, and whenever he was in Tortuga he was never seen with any other women except her. Even Laoghaire, who discreetly kept an eye on him, always reported back to Annie that he was faithful as far as she knew.
Feeling tears gather in the corners of her eyes, she slid the ring around a chain on her neck and took a deep breath. She needed to get a hold of herself. Dashing the tears away angrily she finished gathering her belongings. Tying them up in a thin blanket, she looked once more around the small room and felt the beginnings of a smile tug at the corners of her mouth. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.
Jack strode down the street after leaving Sally and the children off at her hut. She had promised to have them ready to travel in an hour. Muttering darkly to himself, he took occasional pulls off of the bottle of liquor he had snitched. He already had a headache, and he didn't want to hear the griping of this crew about the new passengers. Almost tripping over a pair of legs, he righted himself and gave a bark of laughter.
Gibbs, one of his crew and also an ex-British sailor for Her Majesty's Royal Navy was sprawled drunkenly half in, and half out of an alleyway. He was using a mangy, most likely flea-infested dog as a pillow. When the dog heard Jack laugh, it sprang away and disappeared leaving Gibbs' head to smack against the cobblestones painfully.
"Son of a toothless whore," Gibbs rasped out, lifting himself up and rubbing his head. He squinted up into the sun and grinned as he recognized Jack. Jack held out a hand and hauled the man up to his feet. Gibbs' gray hair was tousled and lank, and his mutton chops bristled. He looked like Hell and smelled like a pig sty. He wore a white shirt, stained and half- unbuttoned. His trousers were gray, and ended mid-shin like most of the sailor's pants. His feet were bare; he had probably lost his roughly-shaped shoes that he wore on the mainland somewhere. Swaying, Gibbs took a pull off of his flask and winced when he found it to be empty.
Jack offered the bottle of rum, and Gibbs took a grateful slug. Jack put the stopper back and tucked it into his pocket. No need for the rest of the crew to think they had rights to his alcohol.
"So how was your day off?" Gibbs snorted.
"I got into a tavern fight, some drunk almost knifed me, and I didn't have enough money for a whore. What about yours?"
"I got us some new passengers." Gibbs raised his bushy eyebrows and grunted at Jack.
"Are they women? Women are sore bad luck, Captain." Jack stroked his goatee briefly and gave Gibbs a mysterious look before clapping him on the back and leading him towards the Black Pearl.
"They're worse than women, Gibbs. Far, far worse." Gibbs moaned and hung his head as he followed along behind his Captain. Jack laughed lightly and swayed along, with his unusual, distinctive gait.
Annie had been right; Angus Shaw hadn't taken kindly to her leaving him a barmaid short. He had ranted and raved, before kicking her out. Annie stood by the front door, waiting for Jack. He came finally, Sally holding onto his arm, the two children along as well. Annie took Gwen from Sally after she kissed the infant's cheeks. Ethan was protesting loudly about leaving and wanted to know where he was going and why this man was taking him away from his 'Auntie Sally'.
Annie kneeled down so that she was face to face with the small boy, who looked angelic with his blonde hair and large blue eyes. Appearances could be deceiving though, for the corners of his mouth were turned down, and his lips were trembling.
"We're going on an adventure, Ethan. We're going to sail on a big ship and meet new people." Ethan's ears perked up at the word 'ship'. He was instantly all smiles again and innocently hugged Sally when she picked him up and told her he'd be back soon to tell her all about his 'ventures on the big ship'. Sally looked like she was going to burst into tears, but she quickly thanked Annie and Jack, and shoulders squared walked away. She never looked back, and Jack whistled in admiration.
"I'll miss that lovely woman," was all he said in a quiet, sad tone before wiggling his eyebrows at Annie and making a remark about how nice her rear looked. Annie let out an exasperated sigh and followed him as he led the way to the Black Pearl. She didn't even notice the bundle of the children's clothing that he had slung over a shoulder until the tossed it at her feet as they walked down the dock. The gentle lapping of the water and the echoes of their thudding feet woke her up from her daydreaming to reality.
Looking up at the ominous appearance of the Pearl, she swallowed painfully and gritted her teeth. Giving the now silent and wide-eyed Ethan a falsely cheerful smile, she glanced up at the railing of the ship and immediately lost her fake bravado.
The deck was lined with pirates, all frowning down at their Captain and even more so at Annie and the children. A dark skinned woman was shaking her head and thumping her fist on the railing while a portly man with gray and white mutton-chops was darkly muttering and draining a flask. Jack turned to Annie and gave her a grand bow, sweeping his hat off of his head and smiling broadly.
"Welcome to the Black Pearl, love. Watch your step up the gangplank, there's a good lass. We need to be off." Annie dumbly followed Jack as he lightly danced up the gangplank. This was going to be far more difficult than she had ever imagined.
Jupiter's Light - Definitely doomed, yes.
Bobo3 - Thanks! I'll certainly try to keep people reading. Yeah it is nice to have people give you recognition for stuff you've written. I also like it when people point out stuff that doesn't work.
Reese Sparrow - Thank you! I'm glad you liked it.
Kyesha - Jack's already looking around for a therapist, I'm sure just at the mention of children. Thank you very much!
BrkLnLady - Whoo hoo I love cliffhangers! I'm glad you're able to see Jack's character; I'm worried that I'm not getting it right.
GooseLives - Thank you, I consider that a compliment after reading your story. No need to get irrational, here's an update ; P
Annie Lindsay sat impatiently waiting for Sally to get on with her story. She knew that Sally was ill, and had been for some time. She half expected Sally to ask her to take her children and raise them, but she didn't know why this scoundrel Sparrow was here. At the moment Sparrow was longingly gazing at the bottles lined up behind the bar counter. He kept licking his lips and practically drooling. Annie shook her head and looked expectantly at Sally.
"It's like this," Sally took a swallow of water and waited for her coughing to die down.
"I'll be blunt with ye Annie. I'm not going to be around much longer. I've asked Jack to take the kids with him and find them decent homes." Annie felt her eyes widen in shock and horror. Jack was grinning at her smugly.
"ARE YE DAFT WOMAN?" Sally listened to Annie rant for a few moments before holding up a hand that was shaking slightly. Annie calmed down, but she was breathing heavily and her face was flushed.
"I want ye to go with them, make sure they're PROPERLY looked after," Sally said with a pointed look at Jack. Jack gave her a wide-eyed smile that was supposed to be angelic, but was ruined by his flashing gold teeth.
"You're mad," Annie whispered, clutching Gwen to her bosom, inhaling the sweet baby scent. Sally shook her head and her shoulders slumped.
"I don't want them raised in Tortuga, Annie. They will amount to naught if they are. Turn into a bloody pirate and a whore, most likely. No offense Jack." Jack clasped his hands together and bowed at her fluidly.
"None taken, love."
"You say you don't want them to become pirates, but you're willing to bloody well let them be taken away by one!" Sally smiled tiredly at Annie.
"Jack's an old friend, Annie. Whatever he did to your sister, he has done nothing but good to me. I have known him almost my whole life." Annie was silenced by that news and glared at Jack through eyelids narrowed into slits. She didn't like this one bit, but by God she wasn't going to let this pirate take these innocent babes away with no one to protect them.
"I'm going," she stated flatly. Sally's eyes brightened and Jack's face paled. He already had a woman on board who was less than impressed with him. Anna Maria would either welcome Annie Lindsay or make her life a living Hell. He rationalized that at least he wouldn't be the one looking after the children and this cheered him.
"Wonderful, drinks all around!" Annie rolled her eyes at him and glowered. Sally leaned over and gave Annie a slight hug. She felt weak, and wanted to go home.
"When are we leaving?" Annie directed her question at Sally, but it was Jack who answered, having risen and headed towards the bar. Snagging a bottle that was left on the counter, he snuck it into an inside pocket of his coat and turned around.
"Well love, the crew should be gathering at the ship by mid- afternoon. The sooner we leave the better. Don't like to stay in one place for too long, savvy?" Annie almost lashed out at him, to make him put the bottle back, but she lost her anger in a cloud of worry. She had much to do before she left.
"Fine, meet me back here before you go to your ship. I have to let the owner know that I won't be working here anymore." Jack shrugged and then nodded before sauntering over to Sally. Helping her stand up, Annie was taken aback to see the concern that flashed in his dark eyes.
The pair left the tavern then, the two children in tow. Annie rose, suddenly exhausted. She stretched and groaned slightly at a crick in her back before finishing her morning routine of sweeping the floor. Angus Shaw, the tavern keeper would NOT be happy about her leaving.
Her mind wandered back to when her sister Laoghaire was enamored with Jack Sparrow. 'Captain' she corrected herself silently with a sneer. Laoghaire had managed to get caught up in the disgusting profession of a streetwalker. One that Annie never condoned, and would always try to talk her out of. But Laoghaire was beautiful, and young. She had a sultry way about her that Annie could never match. Where Laoghaire was playful and flirty, Annie was quiet and guarded.
Laoghaire had fallen hard for the odd pirate captain. The two had had an 'understanding' which Jack had apparently thought would suffice never taking into account that a woman's feelings were far more delicate than a man's most of the time. It didn't take much to hurt Laoghaire, a fact that was bizarre given her rough profession. Annie had fast grown tired of seeing Laoghaire mope around waiting for The Black Pearl to pull into Tortuga's port. Time and time again the girl would go racing down to the bay when a ship was sighted only to return, downcast and weepy.
When it was certain that Jack wasn't going to return for a long time, and there were reports of him being abandoned or even dead, Laoghaire had finally gotten over the man. But a part of her was always his, and she was still given to moody fits at the mere mention of his name. A young pirate who decided to go legit had finally gotten her attention and had taken her off to the colonies. The letter's Annie got from the Americas gave her hope that her sister was doing well.
Tossing the broom blindly against the wall, she clattered up the wooden stairs in the back to the small, windowless chamber that she called home. There wasn't much there, there hadn't been much to begin with. She methodically began folding up her chemise's and shifts, skirts, blouses, stockings and other clothes. She had few personal possessions, the letters from Laoghaire, a necklace given to her by her long deceased mother, and a ring given to her by the one man she had loved dearly.
Annie closed her eyes and held the ring to her chest protectively. Funny thing about pirates, for all the dirty scoundrels there were always a few who were witty, handsome and dashing. Like Jack Sparrow, she thought bitterly. Her Connor Riley had been such a pirate. Not a captain, but a first mate on a ship. He had come often to Tortuga and each time had always brought her little nothings that she had treasured as the richest of gifts.
"Annie, my bonnie lass," he would always say to her in his rich, Irish brogue. He would always talk to her of Ireland, a land she had never seen, and how he would come for her one day and they would be off to live on the coast of his beloved island. The night he had given her the ring, he had promised the next time he came back, it would be to take her away with him.
Except he had never come back. Annie wasn't sure if he had been fooling her all along or if something horrible had happened to him. She was almost certain that it was the latter and not the former. Connor Riley had seemed like the honest type, and whenever he was in Tortuga he was never seen with any other women except her. Even Laoghaire, who discreetly kept an eye on him, always reported back to Annie that he was faithful as far as she knew.
Feeling tears gather in the corners of her eyes, she slid the ring around a chain on her neck and took a deep breath. She needed to get a hold of herself. Dashing the tears away angrily she finished gathering her belongings. Tying them up in a thin blanket, she looked once more around the small room and felt the beginnings of a smile tug at the corners of her mouth. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.
Jack strode down the street after leaving Sally and the children off at her hut. She had promised to have them ready to travel in an hour. Muttering darkly to himself, he took occasional pulls off of the bottle of liquor he had snitched. He already had a headache, and he didn't want to hear the griping of this crew about the new passengers. Almost tripping over a pair of legs, he righted himself and gave a bark of laughter.
Gibbs, one of his crew and also an ex-British sailor for Her Majesty's Royal Navy was sprawled drunkenly half in, and half out of an alleyway. He was using a mangy, most likely flea-infested dog as a pillow. When the dog heard Jack laugh, it sprang away and disappeared leaving Gibbs' head to smack against the cobblestones painfully.
"Son of a toothless whore," Gibbs rasped out, lifting himself up and rubbing his head. He squinted up into the sun and grinned as he recognized Jack. Jack held out a hand and hauled the man up to his feet. Gibbs' gray hair was tousled and lank, and his mutton chops bristled. He looked like Hell and smelled like a pig sty. He wore a white shirt, stained and half- unbuttoned. His trousers were gray, and ended mid-shin like most of the sailor's pants. His feet were bare; he had probably lost his roughly-shaped shoes that he wore on the mainland somewhere. Swaying, Gibbs took a pull off of his flask and winced when he found it to be empty.
Jack offered the bottle of rum, and Gibbs took a grateful slug. Jack put the stopper back and tucked it into his pocket. No need for the rest of the crew to think they had rights to his alcohol.
"So how was your day off?" Gibbs snorted.
"I got into a tavern fight, some drunk almost knifed me, and I didn't have enough money for a whore. What about yours?"
"I got us some new passengers." Gibbs raised his bushy eyebrows and grunted at Jack.
"Are they women? Women are sore bad luck, Captain." Jack stroked his goatee briefly and gave Gibbs a mysterious look before clapping him on the back and leading him towards the Black Pearl.
"They're worse than women, Gibbs. Far, far worse." Gibbs moaned and hung his head as he followed along behind his Captain. Jack laughed lightly and swayed along, with his unusual, distinctive gait.
Annie had been right; Angus Shaw hadn't taken kindly to her leaving him a barmaid short. He had ranted and raved, before kicking her out. Annie stood by the front door, waiting for Jack. He came finally, Sally holding onto his arm, the two children along as well. Annie took Gwen from Sally after she kissed the infant's cheeks. Ethan was protesting loudly about leaving and wanted to know where he was going and why this man was taking him away from his 'Auntie Sally'.
Annie kneeled down so that she was face to face with the small boy, who looked angelic with his blonde hair and large blue eyes. Appearances could be deceiving though, for the corners of his mouth were turned down, and his lips were trembling.
"We're going on an adventure, Ethan. We're going to sail on a big ship and meet new people." Ethan's ears perked up at the word 'ship'. He was instantly all smiles again and innocently hugged Sally when she picked him up and told her he'd be back soon to tell her all about his 'ventures on the big ship'. Sally looked like she was going to burst into tears, but she quickly thanked Annie and Jack, and shoulders squared walked away. She never looked back, and Jack whistled in admiration.
"I'll miss that lovely woman," was all he said in a quiet, sad tone before wiggling his eyebrows at Annie and making a remark about how nice her rear looked. Annie let out an exasperated sigh and followed him as he led the way to the Black Pearl. She didn't even notice the bundle of the children's clothing that he had slung over a shoulder until the tossed it at her feet as they walked down the dock. The gentle lapping of the water and the echoes of their thudding feet woke her up from her daydreaming to reality.
Looking up at the ominous appearance of the Pearl, she swallowed painfully and gritted her teeth. Giving the now silent and wide-eyed Ethan a falsely cheerful smile, she glanced up at the railing of the ship and immediately lost her fake bravado.
The deck was lined with pirates, all frowning down at their Captain and even more so at Annie and the children. A dark skinned woman was shaking her head and thumping her fist on the railing while a portly man with gray and white mutton-chops was darkly muttering and draining a flask. Jack turned to Annie and gave her a grand bow, sweeping his hat off of his head and smiling broadly.
"Welcome to the Black Pearl, love. Watch your step up the gangplank, there's a good lass. We need to be off." Annie dumbly followed Jack as he lightly danced up the gangplank. This was going to be far more difficult than she had ever imagined.