Usual disclaimers – wah!!

With thanks to Kat, Michiru, beatlechicksteph, Mrs Depp, Sparrow'sLover, A Depp Girl, Pendragginink, Orlando'sHotChick and Hilary for editing as well as plotting, reviewing, kicking my arse…! ;)

Michiru, thank you for your kind words.

Sparrow'sLover, aw shucks blushes like mad Thank you, I'm glad you enjoy the stories.

Pen, I so wish I could claim "Bastard'd be a cruel name fer a babe" as my own work, but credit goes to Hilary for that. We playplot any scene that has Patience in.

Happy New Year!!

…

Chapter Nineteen: 'What have I done ter upset th'minx now?'

'Sorry Shay,' Jack apologised. 'I know ya wanted ter see Patience but th'storm that's brewing looks like a bad one an' with th'crew we lost when we attacked th'Dutch schooner, I can't afford ter let ya have leave. I want th'Pearl safely in Tortuga harbour as soon as possible.'

'I understand,' Shay replied heavily. He had been looking forward to seeing Patience for the first time in four weeks, and now he did not know when he would get to see her.

Jack had been in two minds whether to go to Tortuga first and visit Jenny afterwards, but he knew how she hated storms and wanted to be with her. He watched as the supplies of fruit, flour and fabrics he was taking ashore with him, were lowered into the boat.

'Ya should make Tortuga long before th'storm hits, but if ya don't…'

'I know, I know,' interrupted Joshamee Gibbs. 'Make for the nearest safe haven.'

'Come fer me in a week.'

'Yes Jack…' He had heard it all morning and would be glad when his captain was finally on his way. 'Isn't that Jenny on the beach? I wonder where Patience is?'

Jack turned and looked towards his home, grinning as he saw the figure of Jenny waving at the ship. 'Aye, that it is. Look after me ship.'

'Yes Jack. Give my love to Jenny and Patience.' The quartermaster sighed with relief as Jack climbed down to the boat and waved cheerily as he started rowing.

'Jack!' Jenny called hurrying across the sand and flinging her arms around him as he jumped from the boat and swung her around.

'Missed me?' he grinned, kissing her.

'Not really…' she teased, returning the kiss eagerly.

'Bloody hell, yer big!' he exclaimed, looking in astonishment at her stomach. 'How long yer got now?'

'Still another three months or so,' she laughed, linking her arm with his and walking back to their home. 'Is Shay not coming?'

'There's a storm on its way an' we lost some men when we attacked a ship. I want her safe an' there's nowhere 'round here that's safe enough ter shelter, so they're headin' fer Tortuga.'

'Oh. Patience will be disappointed,' she frowned sadly. 'She's been excited all morning. I sent her to town to get some things just for some peace.'

'I'm sure I can give him a few hours when th'Pearl returns. Now come on missy, I want ter hear all about what ya've been up to…'

…

Jenny smiled to herself as she looked at Jack lying beside her, snoring gently. She had loved having him with her these past couple of days and was starting to dread him leaving again. She jumped as the wind blew one of the shutters open and got up to shut it again, looking out of the window at the rough seas and the small fishing boats bobbing up and down violently in the bay. She secured the shutter, hoping this was as bad as it would get. But she doubted it. Jack had a feeling it was going to be a bad storm and he was rarely wrong. She looked at him fondly, still sleeping, and bent to kiss him before going quietly downstairs to cook some food to keep in case she was not able to light the fire in the storm.

She was still cooking a couple of hours later when Jack finally emerged, and turned to kiss him, savouring the feel of his bare chest through her thin shift. 'Sleep well?'

'Mmm. This is th'only place on land I can sleep. Funny that.'

'It's because this is your home as well as the Pearl,' she smiled, releasing him and getting another batch of bread from the oven. 'You're not Patience's favourite person at the moment, by the way. She popped in earlier for a loaf for breakfast and she was still fuming.'

'When am I ever?' he chuckled, breaking a hunk of bread from the loaf and tossing it between his hands. 'It's hot!' he exclaimed, blowing his fingers.

'Serves you right,' Jenny admonished with a smile.

'What have I done ter upset th'minx now?'

'Teasing her about that woman and Shay in San Juan. It wasn't a nice thing to do.'

'Ya should have seen him, Jen. She was twice th'size of him, an' when she put her arms around him, I thought he was goin' ter suffocate,' he laughed, shaking his head at the memory. 'Shay couldn't get away from her fast enough! He ran down th'street to th'docks like all th'hounds of hell were after him.'

'But it still wasn't nice to tease Patience about it…'

'All right,' he sighed. 'I'll apologise t'her, satisfied?'

'You had better,' she warned, shaking a floury fist at him.

'I'm goin' down th'tavern, have a drink wi'Tom. See ya later luv.' He kissed her and pulled on his shirt and boots as he was going out the door. 'Won't be long.'

'See you later,' she called then carried on with her baking.

…

'Is his lordship around?' Patience asked through the kitchen window.

'No, gone for a drink with Tom.'

'Thank gawd fer that. I'd have probably decked him,' she sniped, coming through the door. 'Bit bloody blowy out there. Hope th'houses will be all right,' she worried. She didn't want to lose her precious house, not now she was getting used to life on another island. 'Ya feedin' an army?!' Patience looked at all the food that her friend had cooked,

Jenny laughed then looked at the vast amount of food she had prepared. 'Oh dear. I do seem to have overdone it a little,' she smiled sheepishly.

'I was goin' ter ask ya if ya wanted anythin' from town, but I can see ya don't,' she laughed. 'If I see him, I'll tell him ter get home.'

…

Patience hummed to herself as she strolled back from the shops, having enjoyed a gossip with the ironmonger's wife and the seamstress and she now knew all the latest comings and goings around Spring Point and couldn't wait to tell Jenny all about it. She stopped dead on hearing a voice near to the houses and dropped her basket in shock as she recognised it, cold fear coursing through her body.

'Ya'd think Sparrow would have built a better house than this,' Tobias Hoskins sneered, looking at the relatively simple wooden structure.

Patience started to back away slowly, quietly, until she was far enough away to run without being seen or heard.

'And gone ter a safer place,' Richie Page put in, noticing the much smaller building to the back of it. 'Wonder who lives there?' he nodded towards it.

'Quiet, both of you!' Valentine hissed. 'Do you want Sparrow to hear us? Peters, you stay here and keep watch,' he ordered a member of the crew who had accompanied them.

Patience fled along the lane, her bare feet pounding along the track as she ran back into town. She knew Jack had been in town, drinking with Tom, and she prayed that he was still there.

…

'Good morning Mrs. Samuels,' Valentine sneered, a cold smile of his face as Jenny spun to face him, dropping the tray of bread she was holding.

'How… did you find us? You!' she spat as Richard Page entered the house after Hoskins. 'You bastard!' She picked up a pan and hurled it towards him, making him duck out of the way.

'Where's Sparrow?'

'Not here,' she snarled, picking up another pan and holding it in front of herself.

'Come, come dear. You should know I know everything. The Pearl is in Tortuga harbour without her captain, so that tells me but one thing. That Sparrow is here with you.' Absolon Valentine nodded to his men and they advanced on Jenny. 'I will ask again… where is Sparrow?'

'Piss off you weasel.' Jenny went to throw the pan at him but Hoskins grabbed her wrist and twisted it, making her release her grip. He shoved her into Page and she found her arms pinned to her side.

'You're goin' ter regret ever crossing us,' Tobias Hoskins snarled, slamming his fist into her belly.

'No,' she wailed, trying to double up but was held fast by the man behind her. 'Please no…'

…

Patience burst through the door of the tavern, looking around wildly, not noticing the mutterings that accompanied her entrance. She spotted Jack and Tom and ran over to them.

'Wha...? Patience?' Jack stood, a worried frown on his face. 'What's wrong?'

'V… va…' she stuttered, unable to even get his name out in her terror.

'Valentine?' His blood ran cold. 'Where?'

'T-the house…'

'Bleedin' hell.' He ran out of the tavern and along the lane as fast as he could, cursing the fact that he only had his boot knife on him. Patience followed him with Scurvy Tom some distance behind.

'Stay back,' he ordered her as they ran. 'I'll deal wi'them.'

'An' what if there are more? I might not be much Jack, but at the moment me an' Tom're all ya've got!'

He sighed, knowing she was right. 'Have ya got any of Shay's weapons in yer house?'

'No,' she replied. 'I've got a broom though…'

'That'll have ter do,' he panted as they reached the garden gate. They looked at each other in horror as Jenny screamed from within the house. Jack sprinted up the path, punching the watchman outside before he could shout a warning, and burst through the door, taking in, in an instant, the two men aiming kicks at Jenny, curled up on the floor trying to protect her belly, and Valentine standing to one side, watching.

In a split second, Jack made the decision to leave his nemesis for the moment and hurled himself at Page and Hoskins, grabbing the latter by his hair and smashing his head into his face. He glanced up to see Patience flying through the kitchen door at the back of the house, wielding a broom and whacking Page across the head, knocking him senseless.

'Jack!' Tom threw his short sword across the room to his captain and flashed his dagger at Tobias Hoskins who had tried to make for the door. 'Goin' somewhere?'

Hoskins backtracked and stopped dead as he saw Patience Riley staring at him, broom in hand and fear in her eyes. 'You little bitch!' he spat, advancing on her. 'I should have killed you a long time ago, whore.'

'Th'feelin's mutual…' Patience jabbed the broom towards him, gasping as he grabbed in and pulled her towards him. She overbalanced and fell against him, knocking them both to the floor. She struggled to get away from his grasp, her hands flailing around, trying to find something else to use as a weapon when her fingers grasped the hilt of a kitchen knife. She grabbed it and rolled off him in one movement, plunging the knife deep into Hoskins' chest, their eyes locked together, both pairs wide with shock.

'You… you…' he gasped as he clawed at his chest, then went still, his hand curled around the knife and his open eyes staring at nothing. Patience scrambled away from him, shaking and nauseous.

'So, you're not as clever as you think you are, Jack Sparrow,' Valentine taunted, withdrawing his sword from its scabbard, focusing only on the man before him. 'Thought you could kill me, eh? Thought I would never find you here? Well you were wrong on both counts, you fool!' He moved around so that he was standing in front of Jenny, still groaning on the floor. 'And she is the one who has paid for your foolishness.'

'Why did you have to hurt her, you bastard? What has she ever done to you?'

'She got involved with you, that's what,' Valentine smiled thinly. He raised his sword to meet Jack's and the sound of metal on metal rang out as they parried.

'Stay where you are!' Valentine ordered Patience as she tried to crawl across the floor to her striken friend. He stepped back as Jack lunged, slicing his blade through the air in a frantic bid to get to his enemy. 'You should know better than to fight in anger, Jack,' he taunted, pushing away Jack's sword with ease.

Jack felt a red mist descend over him and he fought to keep calm. He had to keep calm or Valentine would kill him, then Jenny and their baby, of that he had no doubt. He took a deep breath then raised his sword to Valentine's once more, running it along the length. 'I'm perfectly calm,' he replied, and now he was. He took a step to the side and lunged then brought the blade round in a low arc and sliced, making Valentine take a few steps back to escape being cut.

'See?' Jack grinned coldly.

The two men faced each other for long moments, occassionally clashing blades or thrusting, neither lowering their guard for a second. Valentine suddenly sprung to life, lunging and slicing, driving Jack away with the ferocity of the charge. He brought his sword down hard, cutting Jack's arm and making him drop his sword. Valentine smiled triumphantly and went to leap for him, his sword poised for the final thrust to end the pirate's life, but instead, found himself falling forward as something caught his ankle, making him overbalance. Jack looked down at Jenny's hand grasping Valentine's leg, then dived for his sword, snatching it up and driving it through the back of Valentine's neck before he had a chance to escape, pinning his body to the floor.

'Jack…' Jenny wailed, clutching at her stomach once more. 'Oh God, Jack.'

He sank to his knees beside her, gulping at the blood seeping through her dress. 'Yer all right darlin', come on now,' he whispered. 'Patience, fetch th'midwife. Patience,' he snapped, glaring the girl who was staring at the two dead men on the floor and shaking in shock. She looked at him and blinked, as if she had only just heard him, the front of her dress covered with Hoskin's blood.

'No. It's no use Jack, the midwife won't be able to do anything,' Jenny sobbed, crying out as pain shot through her abdomen.

'I'll get th'bodies out, Cap'n,' Tom said, yanking the sword out of Absolon Valnetine's neck and lifting the body up by the shoulders and dragging it out of the door then coming back and doing the same to Hoskins' body, leaving blood trails across the floor. He fetched some rope and tied Richard Page's hands behind his back, having already dealt with Peters outside, then dragged his still unconcious form out of the house.

'I'll fetch some sheets an' blankets,' Patience said sadly, her footfalls heavy on the stairs.

'I'm sorry luv,' Jack croaked, tears rolling down his face. 'It's all my fault.'

'No it's not. You weren't to know that Page would betray you.'

Patience returned with the blankets and she and Tom pulled the cushions off the settee and lay them on the floor. Jack carefully picked Jenny up and lay her down on them, wincing as she cried with pain.

'Leave us, I'll stay with her. Go ter me house. It's too bloody foul ter stay out there.' Patience watched as the men left and shut the door, jumping as a flash of lightning shot across the sky. The storm was getting closer.

Tom hurried to Patience's house to get out of the driving rain and Jack stayed outside on the veranda, waiting in agony as he heard Jenny's crys and wails. Then silence - followed by a howl of despair.

…

Jack stirred with a start as he felt Jenny shift beneath him and looked into her green, pain filled eyes.

'Where is he?' she whispered.

'In th'bedroom.'

'I want to see him.'

'I'm not sure that's a good idea luv,' Jack soothed, wishing he could take the pain away from her eyes.

'I want to Jack, please.'

'All right, I'll go an' fetch him.' He left Jenny and went upstairs to fetch the body of his son. He stopped as he saw Patience sitting on the edge of the bed, sobs wracking her body. He went over and wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly until her sobs receded.

'She wants ter see th'babe.' He tentatively picked up the bundle of swaddling and carried it downstairs to Jenny, who had propped herself up on the cushions, her eyes never leaving the bundle in Jack's arms.

'Let me see him,' she urged, her voice breaking.

Jack carefully unwrapped the swaddling and handed the baby to Jenny who sat with his arm around her, gazing at their son for a long time.

'He needs a name,' she whispered, looking at the child's face.

'John.'

'John? Why John?'

'Tis my given name, John Hillier.'

'So that is your name then?' A ghost of a smile played on her lips. 'John Hillier is a fine name.'

'Come on luv, ya need yer rest.' Jack went to take the baby from her arms, frowning as she held him tighter. 'I want him with me, please,' she begged.

'All right, Jen.' He pulled the blankets around her and his son as she snuggled down and stroked her head until she fell asleep, then went outside, his face as black as the storm clouds above.

'So yer awake then, ya bastard,' he snarled at Richard Page, who was sitting tied up on the veranda, and kicked him hard in the groin. 'Why? Why did ya betray me ter Valentine?'

Richie Page spat out some bile and looked fearfully at Jack. 'I-I had no choice… y'know what Valentine is… was like. I watched him feed Bailey to th'sharks.'

'He took over yer ship? How? How?!' he demanded, kicking Page again and again until the stricken man fell over.

'S-stop… Jack, p-please,' he begged, groaning in agony as Jack kicked his face. 'We w-went ashore at San Juan an' he f-found us there,' he stammered.

'Liar! Yer a bleedin' liar Page,' Peters spat from where he was tied up on the veranda. 'I'll tell ya th'truth Sparrer, but I want me life fer it.'

'Th'truth? An' just what truth would that be?'

'No, no. Don't listen to him, Jack,' Page pleaded.

'I'm waiting…'

'Yer word that ya'll spare me life?'

'Ya have me word.'

'He's Valentine's son, Sparrer. He led a mutiny against Bailey even before we left Tortuga an' then we 'ad a rendevous wi'Valentine in a bay a few miles round th'coast from th'harbour. He's Valentine's bleedin' son.'

'His son?' Jack's voice was barely above a whisper, but both men heard him even above the thunder crashing around them. 'You are Valentine's son? You fuckin' bastard.' Jack leapt on to him and gripped his throat, pressing hard as he bashed his head against the floor of the veranda over and over. 'You an' your bleedin' father cost me my son an' you are going ter pay!' He continued to bash Page long after he went limp and lifeless beneath him. 'Ya killed my son…' he choked, finally releasing the body of Richard Page.

'You…' He stood and advanced on Matthew Peters, who cowered away from him.

'Ya promised…'

'An' I'm a man of me word. If I ever see yer ship, I'll blow ya out the water, savvy?' he snarled, taking his boot dagger and slicing the ropes that bound the man's feet together. He yanked him to his feet. 'Savvy?!'

'S-savvy…' he stammered, wincing as Jack cut his wrists free, nicking his skin as he did.

'Now piss off. I never want ter see yer ugly face again.' Jack shoved him down the step and into the driving rain, watching as he ran for all he was worth along the street until he was out of sight. He leaned against the wall of the house, taking deep breaths to compose himself then went around to Patience's house to find Tom.

'We have another body ter get rid of,' he announced as he opened the door to the small dwelling.

'Only one?'

'Aye, just Page. I let th'other bastard go with a warning that I'll blow Le Brestois out of th'water if I ever see them. Page was Valentine's son…'

'Wha..? You are bleedin' jokin' Cap'n?'

'I wish I bloody well was,' he replied heavily. 'Any rum here?'

'Some, the lass doesn't allow much in her house. How is Jenny…?'

'She lost th'babe,' Jack replied, the words almost choking him. He fetched a bottle from a cupboard in the kitchen area and pulled the stopper out, taking a long draught of the warm liquid. 'Ya ready?'

'As I'll ever be. At least there's no chance o'being spotted in this weather,' Tom smiled grimly as he lead the way out of the house. 'Valentine an' Hoskins are over here,' he indicated behind the smaller house with his thumb.

'I'll fetch Page.' Jack walked back to his house and slung the body over his shoulder with some difficulty, the fighting and damp weather aggravating the injury to it. He dumped it down as he reached Tom and they carried Page between them through some trees that fringed the garden, until the trees thickened into a woodland. They repeated the process twice more and took it in turns digging the sandy earth with a shovel until there was a hole big enough to bury all three men in. Jack spun on his heels as he heard a noise, cussing as the small form of Patience appeared through the trees.

'What th'hell are ya doin' here? Ya should be wi'Jenny.'

'She's fast asleep. I gave her some of your rum. I wanted… I need ter see them buried – please?'

'Well yer here now,' he replied, bending down and rolling the body of Richard Page into the makeshift grave. 'Did ya know Valentine had a son?' he asked, looking at her in the gloom.

'No… him? I'd never seen him before ya all arrived in Tortuga wi'all guns firin'. Ya sure he was his son?'

Jack nodded. He looked at the body of his enemy, the man who had caused him so much pain and grief and knew that his death had not absolved anthing. 'Why did I have ter go after ya?' he wondered aloud.

'Cos he would've gone after yer,' Patience replied simply.

Tom pushed the body into the pit then turned his attention to Tobias Hoskins, stopping as Patience approached him.

'I hope yer burnin' in hell, ya bastard.' She spat on his body and turned, making her way to the house without looking back.

Jack and Tom filled the grave in after the final body was consigned to it and slowly walked back themselves, both bone tired and soaking wet. Tom grinned as he realised Patience had built the fire up in her house and he bade his captain goodnight before heading for the warmth. It was too late and too far to walk back to his lodgings in town that night.

Jack opened the door to his house, looking down at Jenny, still asleep on the makeshift bed, the body of his son beside her.

'I'll go back home now.' Patience stood from the chair she had been sitting on and went to go past Jack, stopping as he caught her arm.

'You all right?' he asked. 'Ya can stay here th'night if ya'd rather.'

'Is Tom at me house? Then I'll be all right wi'him,' she replied to his nod.

'Thanks Patience. I'm sorry ya had ter go through this.'

'At least I was there fer Jenny, that's th'important thing. Now get them wet things off before ya catch yer death…' She opened the door and disappeared into the gloom, leaving Jack alone with his family. He stripped off, leaving his clothes on the floor as they fell and lay beside Jenny, stroking her hair and smiling as she stirred.

'Where have you been?' she asked quietly.

'Doesn't matter, I'm here now, eh?' He pulled the blankets back and snuggled in, holding her in his arms, their son between them.

'Why?' she whispered, tears rolling down her cheeks. 'It took so long for me to get pregnant, why?'

'I wish I knew luv. I should have left it, I knew what he was like but I didn't an' now ya've paid th'price. I'm sorry,' he choked, pressing his lips against her forehead.

'We've paid the price,' she reminded him, looking at the perfect face of her son. 'Sing to me,' she asked, closing her eyes as Jack started to sing A Spanish Lady and other shanties until she fell into a restless sleep once more.

…

'Cap'n! Captain Sparrow!' Scurvy Tom hammered on the door in panic. 'Jack!'

'All right, all right. Fer Pete's sake, Jenny's restin'. What's wrong?' he snapped as he opened the door and closed it behind himself.

'Th'navy! Th'bleedin' navy are here! I've just come from town an' saw 'em.'

'What?!' Jack scanned the now calmer sea, but he was unable to see the main harbour of Spring Point from the house. 'What th'hell are they doin' here? What ship is it'

'Dunno which ship she is but they took some damage in th'storm. Ya have ter go.'

'How can I go? I can't leave Jenny.'

'You have to,' came her voice from within the house.

Jack opened the door again and walked over to her, crouching down. 'I am not leaving you an' our babe, savvy?'

'So you'll let them capture and hang you, before we've even had chance to bury John? Please Jack. You have to go, either into hiding or off the island, until it's safe to return. Please,' she begged.

'How much damage to th'ship?' he asked Tom who was hovering in the doorway.

'Dunno, Cap'n. Th'mast's were intact an' she was floatin' upright, so I don't imagine there's too much damage.'

'I'll go into hidin' until they've gone. There's plenty o'places in th'hills.' He looked at Jenny once more. 'Will ya be all right?'

'Knowing that you are safe, yes. You will have to take John. Bury him.'

Jack nodded, not trusting himself to speak and took the body from Jenny's arms, wrapping the swaddling around him. He bent and kissed Jenny tenderly, staring deep into her pain filled eyes, then turned and fled the house, picking the shovel up from outside Patience's house and made for the hills that rose from behind the houses.

…

Jack choked back a sob as he reached a place on the cliff top that overlooked the sea and placed the wrapped body of his son carefully on the ground. He took the shovel and pushed it into the loamy earth, finishing the tiny grave all too quickly, then picked the bundle up and peeled back the layers, revealing the peaceful, perfect face of his son.

'I can't bury ya at sea, son, but this is th'next best thing,' he whispered, giving up the fight against his tears. He held the tiny body up, facing the ocean. 'Ya can hear th'roar of th'waves and feel th'spray of th'sea from here, an' you'll be able to see m'ship when we pass an' salute ya.' Jack nuzzled the downy hair on his son's head. 'Goodbye John,' he croaked as he tenderly placed the body into the grave, taking a last look at his son's face before covering it with the cloth and filling the grave in.

…

Author's notes:

Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry. Ani dons an asbestos suit and awaits the grilling…

I did seriously wonder whether to put this in or not, but when I first started writing What Jack Sparrow Wants, the plot bunny popped up (in the bath of all places – the perv!) and I had this vision of Jack, standing forlornly on a hillside, burying his son. I had to include it.