Life's a tricky thing to deal with sometimes. For Cari, it had plans beyond her control. As far as Cari was concerned, Life was laughing in her face. She was already worried enough, with the whole Allen thing, but now this…This was too much. Life was throwing obstacles at her, and she didn't know if she had enough left in her to dodge them. Oh God…she felt sick.
Cari gagged and burst out of her cabin. She raced over to the side of the ship and threw up. Groaning, she sat down on the deck. Just a small sickness, nothing to worry about…nothing at all. Oh, but it was something, she knew it. And before long, the others would know it too. This was bad.
"Are ye alright, Captain?"
Cari looked around. Bramble was there, sitting on a box, sharpening her knife. "I'm fine."
"Ye don't look it." Bramble told her, not taking her eyes from her knife.
"Just-just seasickness." Cari stood up shakily.
"Hmm. Now, someone who 'ad never been on a ship in their life, I'd believe 'em when they said seasickness. But a woman who's been born and raised on the ocean…" Bramble shook her head. "I know it's not seasickness."
"A bad cold." Cari blurted out, trying to think up some other excuse.
"Captain, ye do not have seasickness, ye do not have a cold, ye do not have smallpox." Bramble looked up from her knife and at Cari. "So what do ye have?"
Cari sighed and sat down on the box beside Bramble. Why? Why should she tell Bramble about her problems? Bramble never told anyone about hers. But…Bramble wouldn't tell anyone about Cari's problems. She could be trusted not to talk. Cari took a deep breath. "A baby."
Bramble smiled to herself. "That's what I thought."
Cari stared at the ground. It had been a month since Allen had raped her, and she had not yet bled. It was never this late, and since she was throwing up now…Cari could only assume that a tiny human being was inside her. "I'm scared."
Bramble stared off into space, which was something she did very rarely. "I have a daughter. She's eight."
Cari looked at her in shock. Bramble? A mother? "What's her name?"
"Joy." Bramble pulled a necklace out from under her collar. It had teeth strung on it. "These are her teeth. I don't see her often, so I carry 'em around with me."
"So where is she?" Cari wondered.
"She lives with a friend of mine. I send all of me plunder back to her." Bramble turned back to her knife.
"Is it scary?" Cari asked, not looking at Bramble.
"Is what scary? Labor?" Bramble considered it. "Well, it hurts. And…it's a little scary, but more tirin' than anythin'."
"I don wanna have a baby." Cari said, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Ye'll be glad when she's here. I think Joy was the best thing that happened ta me. And, ye know, ye may never get the chance again." Bramble sighed. "Things happened in me past…I'm infertile now." She shrugged. "At least I don't have ta worry about bleedin'."
Cari absorbed this. What else was Bramble not saying? Not that Cari was going to pry, it was Bramble's business, but still…Then a thought struck her. "Ye said 'she'. Do ye think it's goin' ta be a girl?"
"It has ta be a girl. Would the child of the captain of the Dark Storm be anythin' else?" Bramble gave a small smile.
Cari was taken aback. Bramble never smiled. She stood up. "Well…thank ye, Bramble, for talkin' ta me. I feel much better now." With a nod, she started to walk away.
"Rose." Bramble whispered.
"What?" Cari turned around.
"Me name. It's Rose." Bramble replied, avoiding Cari's gaze.
"Oh. Do ye want me ta call ya that?" Cari wondered.
"No. I was just sayin'." Bramble shrugged.
"Alright then." Cari turned back around and retreated back to her cabin.
"I bet ye three doubloons that she loves 'im." Caitlin said.
"I'll see yer three and raise ye ten that she tells him within the next week." Robyn replied, placing the coins upon the table.
"Stop that. The Cap'n probably doesn't appreciate ye bettin' on her love life.' Lauren scolded, not looking up from the soup she was stirring.
"Aye, but it's all the truth!" Caitlin insisted.
"Ye know she loves him, I know she loves him, she just doesn't know she loves him." Robyn added.
"I hear there's bettin' goin' on down here." Smalls called down the stairs to the galley. She came down and looked at them. "What're we bettin' on?"
"The Cap'n an' Sparrow." Caitlin told her.
"Ooh, fun!" Smalls sat down. "I bet five doubloons they kiss in a fortnight."
"Who kisses?" Sara interrupted, coming in. "Lauren, Jesabel's instructed me ta get Allen some soup."
"Oh, bother that bastard." Lauren grabbed a bowl and filled it.
"Cari and Jack. We got a pool goin', wanna bet anythin'?" Smalls gestured at the table.
"Um…I bet two doubloons on the kissin'." Sara tossed Smalls the coins, then took the soup. "I must go feed His Majesty." She went back above deck.
"I really am gettin' sick of that man. I say we shove 'im overboard!" Smalls cried, falling of the bench.
"Yer not talkin' 'bout me, are ye?" Jack walked in.
The girls scrambled to hide the money. "No, why would we shove ye off?" Caitlin asked.
"Just checkin'. Have any of ye seen the Captain?" He asked.
They exchanged looks. "I ain't seen her all day." Smalls informed him.
The others shook their heads. "Me neither." They chorused.
"Dear God, what has he done to her now?" Jack ran out of the galley and up the stairs.
There was silence. "I bet twenty she's gonna have a baby." Smalls said.
"Don be silly!" Robyn told her. "She can't have a baby…can she?"
"I still bet twenty." Smalls placed the money on the table. 'Though I hope I'm wrong.'
"Alright, what's he done?!" Jack threw open the door to her cabin.
Cari jerked her head up from the map she was reading. "What?"
"Ye haven't come out of yer cabin! He must have done somethin'!" Jack yelled.
"Jack, calm down. He hasn't done anythin'…" she paused. "Well, he has."
"Aha! I'll kill that-" Jack was about to run off, when she grabbed his arm.
"Sit." She shoved him into a chair and closed the door. "Yer wastin' yer energy. He hasn't touched me since he raped me, so just calm down."
"But ye said he did somethin' ta ye!" Jack exclaimed.
"He did!" she told him. "It come with the raping, but I only just found out." She looked away.
Jack studied her. "Are ye…are ye with child?"
Sadly, Cari nodded. "Aye. But it's not that bad. Except for the sickness." She made a face.
Neither spoke for a moment. "How are ye feelin'?" Jack wondered.
"I'm fine, at the moment." She sighed. "What else is in store for me?"
"What?" Jack was puzzled.
"As if I wasn't hurt enough when he raped me, now I'm carryin' that bastard's child! I mean, God…" Cari took a deep breath. She was angry, very angry. "Is this written in the stars?!" she cried.
"Cari, I think ye should sit-" Jack was silenced by the look she gave him.
"Am I payin' for some crime?! Is this all that I'm good for, just some stretch of mortal time?! Or…" she searched for words. "Or, some god's experiment, in which I have no say?! In which I'm given paradise…" she trailed off, her anger wearing away. "…but only for a day."
Jack blinked. "That's a bit profound."
"It rhymed too, that's a bit scary." She sighed. "Yer right, I probably should sit down."
"Well?" Jack asked.
Cari looked at him. "'Well' what?"
"Are ye gonna tell the others?" Jack prompted.
"I probably should." She sighed again. "Ye wanna get everybody but Jesabel in the galley?"
"Why not Jesabel?" Jack wondered.
"Her brother is the father. I think it'd be better if she didn't know." Cari explained.
"Ooh…good point." Jack left, Cari following.
"Everyone! The Captain has an announcement ta make!" Jack called over the voices of the crew.
"It's not much really." Cari said. "I'm just…there's gonna be a baby on the ship."
There was complete silence. "You mean…." Tari realized what this meant.
"Aye. That bastard got me pregnant." Cari shrugged.
"Do ye want me ta kill him for ye?" Smalls asked.
"No, that's alright." Cari insisted.
"Damn." Smalls grumbled.
More silence followed. "Why are we all sad?" Roseline wondered. "I think this is somethin' ta celebrate!"
"She's right." Caitlin agreed. "There's gonna be an heir ta the throne of the Dark Storm!"
"Of course, it'll be a girl." Robyn added.
"Aye, if it was a boy, we'd have ta toss it overboard!" Caitlin laughed.
"Not funny, ladies." Cari told them.
"Sorry." They apologized in unison.
"I say a round of drinks for everyone!" Lauren began filling up mugs.
"To the child of the Dark Storm!" Smalls toasted.
"To the child!" they clinked mugs.
"Oh." Smalls grinned at Robyn and Caitlin. "I believe the both o' ye owe me twenty doubloons."