A/N: Hey guys, straight to it today. I know this one's short, but please forgive me.
Chapter 7, "No Pistils?"
Will was sitting on the back porch of the house. It was nighttime and the girls had both gone to bed. Jade had decided to stay the week with Morgan, instead of going home. He was glad – she gave Jack something to think about! And speaking of Jack… "Will?" Jack stuck his head out of the door. "You out here?" It was dark as molasses on the porch; Will hadn't turned the light on. "Yeah, Jack, I'm here." Jack quietly slid the door shut, then came over and sat in the chair next to Will. He propped his feet up on the patio table. "Well what are you going to do?" Jack asked. Will looked quizzically at him, though he thought he knew what was coming. "What do you mean?" Jack rolled his eyes. "You know darn well what I mean, mate." Will looked back out at the pasture and sighed. "I don't know, Jack, I just don't know." There was a moment of silence, then – "I was watching you and Morgan today. You love 'er, don't ya'?" Will didn't answer right away. That was all the answer Jack needed. "Oh ho! You do love her! My, what's the poor lass Elizabeth going to say?" Will's irritation perked up. "Elizabeth isn't here. And besides, I don't love her." Jack fixed him with such a pointed stare that Will couldn't meet his eyes. "Well, not exactly," he said sheepishly. "More like, I have very 'intense liking' for her. Not love," he added. "Uh, huh, whatever you say, mate," Jack replied. He still wore a skeptical look. Will shook his head. They sat in silence for nearly forty-five minutes before Will finally went to bed. Jack followed suit shortly after.
Two weeks later.
"Brrrrr, it's chilly," stated Jade. They were sitting around the fireplace playing a card game called Rummy, which the pirates had only just learned in the last week. Recently there had been a cool snap, and fall it seemed was coming on early. The leaves on the trees were turning red, and the pecans and acorns were beginning to fall. "You know," said Morgan. "These are perfect conditions for hunting." Jade began to laugh, then told her, "The last time you said that, we wound up with two pirates! Who next?" Morgan smiled slyly. "Maybe Han Solo or Legolas?" Jade's eyes began to twinkle, then they both fell over laughing. Jack looked at Will, who shrugged bewilderedly. "Anyway, what do you say we go hunting?" Jade asked. "Sure, why not," agreed Jack. Will nodded enthusiastically. Morgan smiled. "Good, we'll go in the morning." Jack rocked back and forth in his seat. "I just can't wait to kill me some game with me trusty pistil!" he said, and began to examine it and make sure it was in working order. "What're we huntin'?" Jade cleared her throat. "Umm, first of all, we're hunting deer. Second, ya'll ain't gonna be using your pistils." Will's face fell. "No pistils?" Jack and Will asked together. "No pistils." Morgan and Jade answered.