Authors' Notes-
Yes, we are perfectly aware that you all are out there with pitchforks hiding behind your backs, but we accept that. Things have been absolutely mad but now here's a chapter to placate all of your desires to kill us. Please enjoy and review. Thanks a million.
Disclaimer- If we honestly owned Will and Jack do you think that we'd be taking time to write a story about them? We'd be busy doing other things...with those two blessings to woman kind...that can't be discussed in a PG-13 story, so, on with the show!!!!
Last Time-
Just then a rather frazzled looking young woman with red curly hair and a baby on her hip walked over to the butler. "James, who's---" before tapering off.
Pirates of the Caribbean – The Aftermath
Chapter 14 – Welcome Home!?
Kate had stepped forward a half step while the woman was talking, trying to be noticed. Jack put a restraining hand on her shoulder to keep her back.
The woman stared at her for a moment before saying, stunned, "Kate? Is that you?"
Kate wasn't able to talk...she couldn't find words, so she just nodded her head weakly.
The woman rushed forward and pulled Kate into a surprisingly tight hug.
"Colleen! Get off! You're killing me!" Kate muttered.
Colleen let her go and stepped back a bit.
Kate took advantage of this and said, "Jack, Will, Katie, this is my older sister Colleen. Colleen, this is Jack, Will and Katie," she finished, gesturing to each in turn.
Colleen fell into a half curtsy, still trying to balance the baby who was looking at the new faces curiously. "Oh my God, what happened to you? I thought you died! We all did! What happened?"
"Colleen, this is a really long story. Can we come in?" Kate said.
Colleen snapped out of her haze and said, "Yes, of course. James, please go get my mother and father."
"Mum and dad are here?" Kate asked.
"Yes, they're up with David and Eliza's tutor. David won't read his lesson and Eliza is getting to be more and more like you each day."
Jack chuckled from behind Kate and said, "That must be scary. Two people like Kate, here, how do you survive?"
Colleen laughed appreciatively and led them to a parlor not far from the entrance hall. "Kate, what happened? We never heard anything. We thought you were dead."
"Maybe we should wait until..." Kate began but fell silent as two adults ran into the room, followed by two younger children. Kate stood up to greet them and was instantly smashed into a hug. Eventually, Kate was released and sat back down between Colleen and Jack. The boy and girl did not join in the hugging, however. Once Kate sat down, they walked over to her. They seemed very hesitant, not sure of whether or not she was real.
The boy climbed on to the sofa between Kate and Colleen and sat anxiously on his knees. He raised a shaking hand and felt Kate's face, feeling to see if this was the sister who he thought had died. Once he was satisfied that it was indeed Kate, he jumped into her lap and was soon followed by his twin sister.
Kate laughed and hugged them both before lifting them off of her lap and setting them on the floor between her legs.
Jack squeezed Kate's hand to offer reassurance. He noticed that he assumed to be Kate's mother was crying and the man, Kate's father evidently, looked confused. It was obvious that they thought that they're daughter was dead and were amazed to see her sitting in front of them. Jack felt rather uncomfortable. The tension was palpable. Katie and Will sat silently, watching the scene before them.
Suddenly, Kate's mother croaked out, "How?"
Kate looked down at her hands and began telling what "happened". She glossed over several of the details and skipped Tortuga completely. When she finished her family stared at her, too stunned to say anything.
Finally her father asked, "So that's what happened?"
"Yes," Kate answered feebly. "Jack saved me from Albert and all manner of torture and because of what he did, I'm alive today.
Mr. Black nodded, unable to find much to say but asked, "So . . . you're alright.
"Yes, father. I've been taken care of."
Jack noticed Kate's discomfort and said, "Sir, we've been very careful with your daughter. She has been very safe."
"Thank you. But who are you?" Kate's father asked.
"I'd be Captain Jack Sparrow, this is William Turner and that is Katie," Jack said in an oddly serious tone.
The name Captain Jack Sparrow perked David's ears. "Are you really Captain Jack Sparrow?" he asked, turning around to face Jack.
Jack grinned and said, "Aye, I am, lad."
"Wow! Kate told us stories about you before. Didn't you, Kate?" David said.
Kate blushed and said, "Yes, David. I did."
"You're my favorite pirate, Captain Sparrow!"
Jack grinned broader, reached down and ruffled the lad's hair.
Kate's eyes flitted to Colleen and the baby girl. "When was she born?"
"Right after the fire," Colleen replied.
"What's her name?"
"Katherine. It seemed fitting. George and I wanted to remember you."
Kate's eyes dropped down but she asked, "How is George?"
Now it was Colleen's turn to look down. "He died. Three months ago."
"Oh. I'm sorry," Kate said.
"Nothing you could have done. It was the measles."
"Oh."
Will cleared his throat and said, "Kate's told us excellent things about you, Mr. and Mrs. Black."
"Thank you," Mrs. Black said before looking at Kate. "Have you been . . . happy?"
"Yes mum."
More awkward silence elapsed.
"What happened in the fire, mum?" Kate asked.
Kate's father started talking, "We woke up to David screaming. When we went to get him and Eliza, the smoke was so thick that we could hardly see. On the way out, we stopped in your room and you weren't there. We didn't know what to do. So we figured that you had gotten out and were safe so we left to. Eliza collapsed from the smoke and we had to hide in the woods until dawn. People were frazzled the next morning. Everyone was trying to figure out who was injured or dead. We went back to the house and it was virtually ruined. The only room that wasn't completely destroyed was, oddly enough, your room. The rest was virtually nothing. We searched all over and couldn't find anything. There weren't any signs that you had even been there. Let alone where you were. We figured that maybe you had gotten to safety and were at someone's home. So we went from person to person asking if they'd seen you. No one had. We kept hoping that you would turn up but days went by and still nothing. Finally we were told that there was evidence to believe that you had died in the fire. We didn't have any remains or anything but we decided that that was probably what had happened. So we buried an empty casket. We salvaged what we could from the house and built it again. It was the only way that we could think to do anything."
Kate's mother gave a sniff and Kate looked up to see her crying. Kate moved stiffly from her position next to Jack and sat down by her mother. "I wasn't hurt, mum. I didn't die. I'm ok. I was safe."
Kate's mother smiled weakly and gave Kate a small hug. Before Kate returned to her seat.
"What about Matthew?" Kate asked.
"Still in the army," Colleen said. "He went about mad with grief after you . . . after the fire. He came home shortly after and kept talking to you as if you were . . . here."
Abruptly, Kate stood up. "I need to take a walk. I've got to think. Is that alright, father?" she asked.
"Of course. We'll be here when you get back," Mr. Black said kindly.
"Okay."
Kate wandered through the house seeing things that she recognized. She made her way to her bedroom and saw everything almost exactly as she remembered it. She went to her bed and sat down, deep in thought. This was too much. Everyone thought she was dead. She thought they would have forgotten her. But they all were so wrong. She sat on her bed for a long time, thinking about things. Things had changed so much. Her mother was much thinner and her father seemed to be finally showing his age. David seemed much more precocious and reserved, Eliza more like her and Colleen seemed much sadder than usual.
Before she had had too much time to think, however, Kate heard footsteps approaching.
Turning around, Kate saw Jack walk into the room and sit down on the bed across from her.
"What's on your mind, love?" Jack asked.
"Nothing much, just needed to think. I just started walking and I ended up here," Kate said somberly.
"Things not what you expected?"
"I don't know. It's just that they all thought I was dead. And now they know I'm alive but they don't know what all happened and they don't know that I'm not staying."
"I figured as much. Your mum there is a right nice lady. Is letting us stay here tonight. You'll have the night to talk to them and all and then we can leave when you're ready. They were wondering if you were okay, being home and all they figured would be a shock and a half so I volunteered to come get you."
Kate smiled and said, "Thanks."
Nodding his head, Jack said, "Not a problem. Nice house you've got here."
"Come on. Don't get any ideas. My parents' hospitality usually doesn't extend to pirates. Let's go. They'll be waiting."
Jack followed Kate back down to the parlor where Katie and the Blacks were chatting about Katie's life. Katie seemed to be telling them the same tale that she had told Kate when they met. Kate took a seat by Colleen and Jack, again and for the next two hours attempted to catch up on all that she missed.
-Q-
Dinner was an interesting affair, David and Eliza wanted to know all about pirates and were utterly fascinated by Jack. When it was time for the twins to go to bed, Kate told them a story about pirates, just as she had done before the attack. This one however, was loosely based on Albert and his crew and what they did.
Kate sat for a while with her parents while Colleen showed Jack, Will and Katie to guest rooms and put the baby to bed. Before heading up to bed, Kate gave her parents both hugs and said that she had missed them and reminded them that she loved them.
Kate asked one of the maids to get water for a bath and she enjoyed the water for a long time before getting ready for bed. Kate was about asleep when a soft knock came at the door. Nonplussed, Kate got up and saw Colleen standing outside her door with a candle.
"Colleen? What?" Kate asked sleepily.
"Can I come in?" Colleen asked.
"Sure," Kate said. She lit a lamp in the room and sat down on the bed.
Colleen sat across from her and asked, "What really happened?"
Kate was confused for a moment. "What do you mean? I told you."
"Kate, you told mum and father only part of what happened. There were huge gaps. What aren't you telling us?" Colleen asked stubbornly.
"Nothing. I told you what happened."
"Kate, we used to talk all the time. Why can't we now?" Colleen whined.
"Fine. But you aren't to tell anyone. I mean it, Colleen," Kate said warningly. She waited for Colleen to nod her head before she said another word. Then Kate spent half the night telling Colleen exactly what had happened.
"You love him?" Colleen asked.
"Yes," Kate replied. "And he me."
"I think that he does. I saw the way he looked at you."
"Yeah. I didn't want Mum and Dad to get mad about it."
"You're not staying, are you?"
"No."
Colleen looked at Kate for a long time. "Why?"
"Because there's so much for me out there. And so little here. Father would want to marry me off after I got used to being here again. It would be the way it was before I left."
"Marrying isn't so bad. I've got three children, now. I don't mind."
Kate's eyebrow quirked. "Wasn't it you who came to me in tears after you got pregnant with James about ready to throw yourself from a mountain top?"
Colleen blushed but quickly said, "Well . . . I was scared. I was 17."
"That's my point. I'm only 18. I don't feel ready to be tied down. I am too accustomed to freedom now. But, how are James and Carrie?" Kate asked evasively, trying to change her sister's train of thought.
"Fine. Rowdy as ever and making me about ready to pull out my hair."
Kate laughed and said, "They were always like that."
"Well, I better let you get some sleep. You must be tired," Colleen said.
As Colleen turned to go, Kate said, "Colleen!" Colleen turned and Kate continued, "It was good to talk to you like we used to. I missed that . . . I missed you."
"I missed you too, Kate," Colleen said as she walked out of the room.
Kate soon fell into a deep dreamless sleep. She woke the next morning to two bright shining faces of David and Eliza.
"Morning, Kate!" they chirped before rushing out of the room. On their way, Kate heard them whisper something about waking Jack Sparrow. Fearing for Jack's sanity and the twins' safety, Kate quickly got out of bed, pulled on a dressing gown and brushed her hair.
By the time that Kate got to Jack's room, David and Eliza had already 'attacked'. They jumped onto Jack's bed and started bouncing up and down until the pirate flipped off the bed.
-Q-
Woken from a deep sleep, Jack sat up and rubbed his head, looking for the source of disturbance. Seeing the two children, Jack got up and grabbed them both, holding them upside down under each arm until they were crying from laughter. Before things got too interesting, though, he set them on the bed and began tickling them. The two were both laughing madly and looked to be completely enjoying themselves.
Another laugh interrupted Jack's thoughts. Leaving the kids, Jack turned to see Kate leaning on the doorframe, her eyes sparkling with laughter. A huge smile split her face as she made her way over to the bed. She lifted up the two kids and pushed them out of the room gently.
"Go on," she said. "He needs to get ready for breakfast. You can talk to him then, I promise."
"Do we have to, Kate?" Eliza asked.
Kate pondered this for a moment and then remembered something. A devious smile crept across her face and she said, "No. How about you go wake up our other guests. But make sure to do what you did here to them too. Okay?"
"Okay!" David said before he and Eliza scampered off.
"Now why did you do that?" Jack asked, still chuckling.
Kate grinned again and replied, "Well, they're going to be having a baby, aren't they. Shouldn't they get to see what kids are like even when you're tired and don't want to be bothered?"
Jack grinned, "Ye have a good point there."
"I know," Kate said. And with a final smile, Kate left the room to change into . . . proper clothing.
Will and Katie were safe asleep. Warm and comfortable in each other's arms, dreaming happy dreams of each other and their life to come. Until- ATTACK!
Will bolted upright as two small somethings hurled themselves onto him and Katie. For a moment, he thought it was a pillow attack...again but slowly opened one eye and saw a boy and a girl jumping up and down on the bed, laughing insanely.
Katie sat straight up and without thinking yelled, "I'm up already! Enough with the bloody bouncing Will!"
Will reached over and waved a hand in her face, "As good as that worked for waking everyone in the house up, Katie, I'm right beside you."
The twins, seeing that their task was complete, ran off to pester Kate some more.
"What the hell was that about?" Katie asked exasperatedly.
"Umm...I think that was the dawn patrol," Will muttered while lying back down to go to sleep.
"Oh, no you don't!" Katie cried. "You know that I can't get back to sleep after waking up and you aren't either!"
Will groaned and said, "But Katie, it's ungodly early!"
Katie gestured angrily at the sun pouring in the window and said, "Do you think I don't know that already? I ain't blind, Will!"
"No, but I wish I was blind and deaf for that matter. Then I wouldn't have to hear . . . that," Will finished lamely, gesturing to the door where the little devils had exited from moments before.
"What are you going to do when the baby wakes up in the middle of the night, then?"
"It wakes up in the middle of the NIGHT?!" Will asked thoroughly frustrated.
"Yeah, of course it does."
"Why doesn't it sleep? Doesn't it know that night is night and day is day?"
Katie smiled and said, "Why don't you try explaining that to a screaming, crying baby?"
Will grinned devilishly and said, "I have a better idea. I'll do it now," he finished as he lifted up Katie's shirt. He then placed his lips on Katie's stomach and said, "Hey, little one. When you get out of there, you aren't going to cry at night, eh? Night is for sleeping and day is for being awake and if you cry that means you want Mummy, doesn't it?" Will paused and put his ear to Katie's abdomen. After a moment he lifted his head up and said, seriously, to Katie, "He says yes, of course he would want his mummy."
Katie laughed before saying, "Of course. Who would want his daddy?"
Will feigned a hurt look and then said, "I think there is at least one person here who would want his daddy?"
"Oh really? I can't imagine who," Katie said smiling mischievously before getting out of bed and taking the covers with her.
Will screamed girlishly in outrage and hopped out of bed after her.
Katie laughed again and practically danced around the room, the blankets streaming behind her like a cape in the wind, still out of Will's grasp.
Will finally gave up and pouted saying, "Fine. I quit. I'm getting some breakfast."
Katie watched as Will got dressed and smirked at his retreating form exiting the room. As he walked through the threshold, Katie muttered, "Chicken," under her breath but not so quiet that Will couldn't hear.
"I heard that!" Will bellowed as he walked downstairs.
Still smiling, Katie followed Will in changing and then made her way downstairs. She quickly located Kate and her family. But there was someone new...someone who looked strangely familiar but Katie couldn't figure out why and how.
-Q-
Authors' Notes –
So, is that enough to stop you all from committing murder? We hope so. This chapter gives more of a history to Kate, showing her interactions with her family and the like and who could Katie be recognising? More excitement to come in the next installment! Just wait and see...trust us, we're experts! WeasleyGirl is back, by the way, so you'll be possibly seeing more from us in the future.
Cheers!
Rhiannon and WeasleyGirl