Well, this is the second to last chapter. It gets better in this one I swear
CHAPTER 15: Getting to Know the Family
The rain continued to pour down on the town well into the morning hours. The day would prove to be as gloomy and gray as the moods of those who sat in the small building belonging to the doctor. And while other people stayed inside, not bothering to go out in the storm, playing with their families, Jack sat inside wishing he were outside. Anywhere was better than here.
He imagined himself on his ship, Connor by his side, old and wrinkly. He saw their son manning the helm and looking much like he himself had at one time. But another clap of thunder brought him back to his small chair, in the small dim room of the doctor's.
It had been several hours since he had been in the room with her, and he was told he could return and stay. But he couldn't find it in himself to open that door and see her, pale, before him. Knowing that she may never say a word to him, or that their child may never be born.
He blamed himself for all of this. If he had been a little more careful when heading down that tunnel, then he would have been free to help her fight. But he had let the adrenaline take over, and walked right into the trap.
The images of Thompson shooting her, her falling to ground. It was to much for him and he found himself once again openly shedding tears. He had never cried like he had in the past eight hours. Never thought that this could be the end of all he wanted, of everything that brought to him happiness.
No one had spoke in several hours, none knowing what to say. They all sat, waiting for a miracle. All thought the same. She had had so many miracles, what if her luck had finally run out, what if her miracles were done.
"Captain Sparrow." The doctor said, appearing in the doorway.
Jack stood on shaky legs and went over to him. "Any improvement?" He asked. His voice was dry from all his cries and screams.
"Depends. I will say that she has become a little more colorful, but she is in no way out of danger. I just don't give her much hope. I am very sorry, but I don't see any signs that indicate that she will wake up." The man said nonchalantly.
Jack nodded and walked past him into her room. He understood what that meant. She was going to die, and he should spend as much time as possible with her. He grabbed her hand and sat in the chair that was placed beside her. He heard the door shut behind him and placed his other hand on her stomach.
"I love ye Connor. And ye too wee Sparrow." He said. "I just want ye to know that. That if you need to go, I understand. It was selfish of me to tell ye to stay because of me. I should be thinking of you. If you can't hold on, if you need to go, then go. I'll be okay with that. I just want you to know that my heart has already been flooded with love for you my Sparrowling. And that my love for you, Connor, was never anything less than all the love in the world. I need you to know, that if you had not come into my life, I never would have become the man I have today. I'd still be in Tortuga, never understanding the meaning of soulmates, or true love. Never learning what it felt like to want only one woman, to need only one woman." He spoke through tears.
"Ye will never leave me. I can never forget you." He cried. He could bring himself to speak no more as the tears quickened and prevented him from speaking. He didn't know how else to say goodbye to best thing or things in his life.
He stayed where he was for the rest of the day, expecting her to let go at any minute. But hours crawled by, and if anything, she seemed to become more colorful. Her breath even began to grow stronger.
Jack didn't notice this though, as he continued to sob and reflect on their past few years together. He laid his head down next to her's and began to talk sweet nothings into her ear, hoping that she could hear him. All he wanted was to be there when she left this realm.
He smiled as he looked down at her hand and saw her wedding ring. He remembered the look in her eyes the day they married, the hurt when he wretched it from her when they were in Port Royal. He still hadn't done enough to deserve the forgiveness she had given him, and he never would.
She was his world, he had to admit. Before her he had been nothing but a shadow living in the light of others. But she had come along, took his hand, and dragged him from behind, pushing to the front. Now she stood in the shadows, living in his light. And he would do anything to get her in that basking sun, to allow her to shine to full potential just one more time.
He kissed her soft hair, and continued to listen the storm outside. It was a full day since she was shot, and not even he could say that he saw this coming. He felt a pressure on his hand, and looked down to find her's clenching his a little tighter.
"Connor." He whispered hopefully. "Doctor!" He yelled.
The man came in, looking calm. "What is it?"
"She squeezed my hand, she squeezed my hand!" Jack said excitedly. He glanced back down at their joined hands and saw her's holding his.
The doctor made his way over, looking ever doubtful. "You were probably just imaging that Captain. Hopes, and dreams." He said.
"That's why she is holding my hand."
Looking down, he saw Connor's hand clenching Jack's. "It can't be." He said. He set to work examining her and after only ten minutes looked up at Jack. "Her breathing is normal. She's recovering, and the babe is fine." He said, shocked.
"That's me girl." Jack said, smiling down at her. "And me child."
"I can't believe it, she was as good as dead. Someone is watching over your wife Captain." The doctor said. "I'll leave you alone for a while. If she wakes up, call for me."
"Aye." Jack said. He turned back to Connor, hope now alive in his heart again.
Several hours passed with Connor never letting go of Jack's hand. He sat patiently by her side, waiting for her eyes to open, for her sweet voice to whisper to him.
Jack had run on pure hope for over twenty-four hours and the exhaustion finally began to get to him. He could no longer fight the sleep that cast over him and he laid his head on the table Connor was on and slept.
Fingers running softly through his hair woke him. He opened his eyes and turned his head to look at Connor. Tears came to his eyes when he saw her.
There she lay, in all her glory, smiling sweetly at him as she ran her fingers through his hair. Her smile faded when she saw his tears. "What's wrong?" She softly asked.
"Nothin', absolutely nothing. Yer awake, you're alive." He choked. He lifted his head and kissed her gently.
"Good. Now ye mind telling me where I am, and how I got here."
"In time luv, in time. First, doctor!" He hollered.
"Oh, a little to loud Jack." Connor muttered.
"Sorry darlin'." He said, running his hand over her hair.
The doctor entered a minute later. He took one look at Connor and rushed to her side. "Amazing. I must say Mrs. Sparrow you are one strong woman."
"Ye have no idea." She replied.
The man smiled and began to check her over. After several minutes he looked at Jack, shaking his head. I don't know how, but she's gonna make it. She'll be fine once that wound heals. But I would advise no stress, or working for awhile. She needs to take it easy, for her and the babe." He said, walking out the door.
Jack smiled and looked down at Connor who was staring back at him wide eyed. "The babe's still alive?" "Yes sweetie. We're still gonna have a baby. But why didn't ye tell me?"
"I didn't want ye to be worrying so much about me that you got yourself killed. Seems I had the backwards though don't I. Now if you would please answer my previous question."
Jack climbed onto the table with her and gently lifted her up. He slid behind her and placed her head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her softly. "Well, as far as I can figure, ye shot first. He shot at the same time that your bullet hit him, square in the head I might add. The force of the bullet must have knocked his shot off, missed your heart by only a few centimeters." He kissed her head.
"I tried to get ye here, but you quit breathing on me. I didn't know what to do, but Gibbs showed up and got you to breath again. I took ye on his his horse and got you here. We've been here for about a day now. We thought that you weren't going to make it."
"I know, somehow I heard everything that was said in the back of me head. Even your good-byes to me and the little one." She said.
"I want a question answered though, when did you get pregnant?"
"Right before we arrived in India. We have one strong child Jack, he's survived smallpox and his mother being shot. Gibbs is the one who informed me, he brought it to my attention the night before we went to Lucknow."
"Well, ye better believe that you won't be leaving my sight ever again luv. I was so sure you were gone." "Hmm." She said, closing her eyes. She was asleep in a matter of minutes and Jack left her and returned to the waiting room. It was still storming outside and he found Tyler asleep in a chair. He walked over to Gibbs who stood in the doorway.
"She's alive. Doctor already came out here and told us."
"I can't say that I am anything but blessed Gibbs. Here I thought God hated me, but I must have done something right."
"Jack, you've never done anything wrong." Gibbs assured him, patting him on the back.
Connor's strength grew more and more each day, and before long she was able to sit up on her own. The doctor would not allow her to stand yet, or leave his office. So Jack had sent Gibbs back to the Pearl to inform the others of what had happened while he stayed by her side night and day..
"Where's Tyler?" She asked him one day. They had been there for a week and Tyler had yet to enter the room and see Connor.
"He's out in the waiting room. Want me to go get him?"
"Yes."
Jack left her and walked into the other room. Tyler sat in a chair, reading a book that the doctor had given him. "Tyler, your mother wants to see ye."
"I don't want to go in there Jack. I've told you time and time again, it's to awkward." He said, marking his spot in the book and placing it on the table.
"Please Tyler, she's been through Hell trying to get to you." Jack pleaded.
Tyler shook his head and stood. He walked past Jack and into the room that Connor was. Shutting the door behind him, he sat in the same chair that Jack had occupied for the past week.
"Hi. I was beginning to think that you didn't want to see me." Connor said.
"That's not it. I'm just not used to it, is all."
"I understand. Your past few months have been rather eventful. Ye learned that your real mother was a pirate and all."
"I'm actually not all that surprised. I always thought that I was to different from my parents to really be their son. Seemed to fit that I was the child of a pirate. I just didn't expect to the son of the wife of Captain Jack Sparrow. I had always heard the stories about him, and the one about the treasure of Atlantis. I had no idea, however that my mother would be the woman in those tales. Is he my father?"
"No, your father was the Governor of Port Royal, before Governor Swann. We had a bit of a fling, but when he discovered that I was a pirate, he fled. Jack and I met because of the treasure of Atlantis. We fell deeply in love during that adventure. But I left after that. I was gone for about two years before I returned. I came back engaged to a man named Michael, who lived here, still does." She told him.
"Then how did you end up with Jack?" Tyler asked. He placed his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands.
"Well, it was the day of the wedding, between Michael and I. Will and Elizabeth Turner, I'm sure you've heard of them. The two other people involved with helping Jack get back his beloved Black Pearl?"
Tyler nodded and smiled. "That's my favorite stories. I didn't know that they got married though."
"Oh yes. They have a daughter also, named after me, Nicole. But anyway, they had been trying since the very beginning to get Jack and I together. They saw the love between us before even we did. They were very disappointed to learn that I would be leaving the Pearl two years earlier. Ye see, Jack and I had already been together for a few months, but for your safety I didn't want to stay. So I told him that I would see him when I see him, when actuality, I had no plans of ever seeing him again.'
"So I returned two years later, needing a ride back to England, to meet up with Michael. I finally told Jack the truth, that he and I were no longer together, which actually broke his heart."
"No way, Jack Sparrow, hurt. He's one of the most feared pirates, there's no way he was upset." Tyler said, completely enthralled by her story.
"Did you not see him when I died?" She asked. She saw the light come on his eyes and continued. "Well, he let me go, wishing me only to be happy. But they were forced to stay in England longer than expected because of Elizabeth's pregnancy. Well that meant that they would be there for the wedding.'
"So there we were, in the church. And right when the priest said, "You may now kiss.", who shows up. Jack. He came striding in, stopping the wedding and telling me that he loved me. I looked into his eyes and could no longer deny, that I too loved him. So we married, right there, that very instant. Would have happened a lot sooner if I had excepted his proposal from two years previous."
"Wow." Tyler said.
Jack stood outside the door listening to the conversation. He smiled to himself at how good of a mother Connor was. He opened the door and walked over to her. "Not saying anything bad about me I hope."
"Of course not luv, I was only informing Tyler of how we met. It appears that he is a fan of yours." She told him.
"Really, when then, we'll have to make more visits to Tortuga to see him. I'll tell ye all about my grand adventures on the high seas." Jack chuckled.
"The truth. I won't have ye lying to your stepson." Connor said.
"Aye, of course. The truth."
"Wait, in Tortuga. You mean I am not going with you?" Tyler asked.
"I am afraid you can't Tyler. I have a lot more enemies, and if anyone were to find out who ye were, they'd come after you." Connor said.
"But, you're having another child. Are you going to keep it?" "Yes. You must understand Tyler, that because of who your father is, it would not be wise for ye to come with us. But we will visit a lot more, and one day you will join us on the Pearl." Connor assured him.
"Okay, as long as you do visit more often." Tyler told them.
"Of course we will. After all, your stepfather is the great Captain Jack Sparrow, and he never lets family down. Now why don't ye go and continue your book, Connor hear needs her rest."
"Yes father." Tyler joked, standing and leaving the room.
Jack turned to Connor. "Ye seem to be getting along with him. I'm glad he isn't all upset about ye not being there for him." "So am I." She replied, leaning on his shoulder.
"Ye okay?" He asked, worry sneaking into his voice.
"Aye, just tired."
"Get some rest then. The sooner you're all better, the sooner we can get back on the Pearl."
"Hmmm, I can't wait." She said, yawning. She closed her eyes and fell asleep quickly.
Jack smiled down at her before placing her on the table. He kissed her forehead and went our into the waiting room. The doctor had just returned from the market and Jack went over to him.
"How much longer until she can go back him Brian?"
"A few more days Captain. When I know that she won't have any complications for sure. But just because she is back on the ship does not mean she can return to her old life. I want her to do absolutely nothing for several weeks. Even after then though she shouldn't do anything to exhausting. She's carrying a child, and after everything she has been through. ."
"I understand. But you don't know her, ye probably just signed my death warrant." Jack laughed.
A few days later, Jack helped Connor back onto the Pearl. He led her straight into their cabin with Tyler following.
"Jack." She whined.
"No, ye know what the good doctor said. Ye stay here, don't lift a finger. Anything ye want myself or Tyler or someone on this ship will get for you. Understood?"
"Yes father. But I assure you Jack, I will be fine." She kissed him softly to help prove her point.
"I know ye will be." He murmured against her lips. "Well I should go to the helm. I can't wait to be back in our own waters."
"Yes and if we don't leave now, I might give birth on the open seas."
"Aye, though I can't say that'd be a bad thing."
"Neither can I." She smiled at him as he went back onto the deck, Tyler following him.
"So is everything I've heard about you true?" Tyler asked, following Jack to the helm.
"Depends on what you've heard." Jack said with a chuckle.
"You'll have to tell me sometime."
"I will." Jack said. He glanced over at the boy, "Have you ever steered a ship Tyler?" "No. I've never even been on a ship."
"What? Well then, come here." Tyler walked over to Jack. "Take the helm."
Jack stepped back and Tyler placed his hands on the wheel. "Ye are now in control of the infamous Black Pearl Tyler. Ye can take her where ever ye want, and I won't stop you. Now where do ye want to go?"
"Home." He said.
Tyler spent the rest of the day at the helm, Jack right behind him. He was a natural captain. He knew how to steer the ship like he had been doing so for years, and Jack knew that he was everything that Connor was. He was proud of the boy and felt his love for him grow.
Jack's family was growing. And he could not ask for more.
YAY, she lives. PLEASE R&R! It'll make Connor better faster.