HEADS UP: This is #4 in a series! If you wish to read the other JackCeleste fics, please go to my bio page and click on the stories from there. This is the order: The Bounty of Captain Bartholomeu Santara, The Gems of Roslynn, The Capture of Thomas Black, then this one! Please read!
SUMMARY: Jack and Celeste's life is going great until they find out that a good friend of theirs is killed. This disrupts their life in horrible ways. They must now try to solve the murder no matter what they have to do. #4 in a series.
By the way: DAFTLIKESPARROW (I love you, man!) says that this is my best work! yayyyy!
HELLO, EVERYONE!! I'm back! With #4! Yayyy! Anyway, I hope you enjoy it! Please review!! I love you all!!
Disclaimer: I am in no way connected with Disney or Pirates of the Caribbean or Johnny Depp as much as I wish, it is not true! Don't sue me!
Chapter 1: Surprise, Surprise, Surprise
Normal life continued on the Black Pearl for a year and two months, its crew laid low in Port Royal, taking a bit of a break from adventurous pirate life. Jack and Celeste Sparrow had never been happier and loved married life. Audra Giles and Angelina Price had gone back to Rosalia after thanking Jack and Celeste for all the adventures and experiences. They were now rich enough to get their own houses and a ship of their own (of which they each paid half for), so they could visit as often as they liked. Unfortunately, it was easy to get caught up in relaxing life, and it had been a long time since they had visited.
Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann had gotten married a few months previous, and had moved into a house of their own which they bought with the money they'd acquired on their adventures.
Life was the same great thing for a while, until one day when something happened that made life greater and changed the way of life on the Black Pearl.
Celeste looked around the table at breakfast, searching for the right food.
"We don't have any bananas…" she said.
"Well, we can go an' get some later." Jack told her casually.
"Later?" she asked. "My meal is ruined. I must have a banana to go with this."
"'ow 'bout I finish eatin' an' we can go into town an' get some, savvy?"
"Fine, I'll just starve until then." she stated bitterly.
He looked at her, feeling she was acting very odd. "Well, alrigh', love, I'll… go to the market an' get some for you."
"Ohh, I-I'm sorry…" she replied, tears coming to her eyes. "I'm being so rude… I didn't mean it…"
"No, trust me, love, it's perfectly alrigh'." he assured. "I'll be back in a little while."
"It's fine?" she asked, tears still in her eyes. "Are you sure?"
"Of course, sweetheart." he replied.
"Oh… Okay, thank you." she said sweetly. He stood up and started to leave. "Oh, and get some green peppers to go with that. And some codfish. Yes, that sounds good."
Jack raised an eyebrow at the strange combination of food, but continued to the door anyhow. He bid her goodbye and left for the market.
A little while later, he returned to the ship with all the things Celeste had asked for. He looked for her in the dining room, but did not find her there. He left the food there and went downstairs to look for her. He went into their room and saw her rummaging through the dresser. He shut the door and greeted her.
"'ey, love, I got the stuff that you wanted from the market." She turned around with a big smile on her face and ran to him; she jumped into his arms.
"Ooh, Jack, I have to tell you something!" she exclaimed happily.
"What is it?" he asked, wondering what on earth it could be and why she was acting so odd today… come to think of it, it wasn't just today… she'd been acting rather strange for a while now…
"Oh, oh, it's such good news!" she exclaimed.
"What is it, sweetheart?" he asked.
"Oh, it's so great!!" she cried.
"I'd love to share your joy, darling, but first you 'ave to tell me what it is." he said.
"Ohh… Jack, I'm pregnant!" she told him excitedly. He stared at her. She beaed at him, and he continued to stare at her, unspeaking. Her smile faded. "Jack, that's -- that's good, right? I-I mean, you're happy, aren't you?" He just stared at her. "Jack, I just said that I'm pregnant, don you even--" Just then, he leaned in and kissed her lovingly.
"Oh… really, darling?" he asked. "Really?"
"Yeah." she replied, grinning. He carried her over to the bed and lied down.
"When did you find out?" he asked.
"Just today." she told him. "Anamaria came in and talked to me. She said I'd been acting strange lately (I hadn't noticed it), and she asked me a few questions, and it all fits!"
"Are you sure?" he asked.
"Pretty sure." she replied.
He sighed. "Ah, the Sparrow line will continue and a whole new generation of pirates will explore the wonders of the Caribbean… and more!" he said, dreaming about the future.
"Yes, but they won't ever break a law -- they will be fine, upstanding--"
"Pirates."
"Well… yes… well, pirate can mean a lot of things…" she told him. "Er, anyway, this is so great… What do you want it to be? A boy or a girl?"
"O' course I want it to be a boy or a girl!" he joked.
"Don't be condescending." she said, grinning. "Anyway, which do you want it to be?"
"I don' really care -- jus' happy, 'ealthy, an' look like you." he told her.
She smiled. "Same here, only I think it should look like you."
"'ow 'bout if it's a girl, it should look like you, an' if it's a boy, it should look like me -- that sounds logical." he said.
"That does sound logical -- I have to agree." she replied, smiling.
"'ave you told anyone else about this?" he asked.
"No, you're the first." she told him.
"I think the crew'll be pretty happy about it." he said. "Could this be the beginnin' of that happily ever after you asked me for?"
"I hope so." she replied with a smile and closed her eyes thoughtfully. He smiled and kissed her.
Life was good. Everyone was so excited about the baby. For five months, they spent their days thinking about the future and what to name the baby. They had completely lost track of time and outside life.
One evening, Jack and Celeste had gone to Will and Elizabeth's house for dinner and were just leaving when Jack remembered he'd forgotten to ask Will something and went back inside. Celeste decided to wait outside. She idly watched people walking by and noticed something. A woman who walked by looked awfully familiar…
"Mother?!" Celeste cried, and several people turned around out of the fact that she sounded so alarmed. The woman looked at Celeste for a moment and it clicked.
"…Celeste?" she asked.
"What on earth…?" Celeste began, baffled on what to say.
"Well, it's good to see you!" her mother said. "My, how you've grown! You're gorgeous! How are you?"
"HOW AM I?!" Celeste yelled. "I HAVEN'T SEEN YOU IN FIFTEEN YEARS AND ALL YOU CAN ASK IS HOW AM I?!?!" Her mother didn't reply. "WHERE DID YOU GO?! AND WHY?!?!"
"Well, I went to France --"
"FRANCE?!"
"And I settled down there for a while…" her mother continued. "I just… wasn't ready for the responsibility of a family… and your father and I weren't getting along…"
"And so you just left?!" Celeste cried.
"Well, your father is a rich and powerful man." her mother told her. "I knew he would take care of you."
"Take care of me?!" Celeste exclaimed. "He married a witch and ruined my life!! Where were you when all that happened?! IN BLOODY FRANCE!!"
"Well, I, er, it's nice to see you." her mother said. "I thought about you a lot. I always wondered how you turned out."
"No thanks to you, my father, and my stepmother, I turned absolutely wonderful." Celeste said.
"You wouldn't have wanted to be raised by me."
"Well, anyway… how's your life?" Celeste asked.
"It's fine -- I came here because I've never been before. I'll probably be staying for a while." her mother replied. "I like it here. Just traveling, really. Why are you here?"
"Well, I sort of live here."
"Sort of?"
"Well, we move around."
"We?" her mother asked. "Oh!" she exclaimed, glancing at Celeste's stomach. "You're pregnant!"
"Took you this long to notice?" Celeste mumbled.
"Are you married?" her mother asked warily.
"Yes…" Celeste replied doggedly.
"Oh, that's wonderful!" her mother exclaimed happily. "What does your husband do?"
"He's… an… explorer of sorts…" Celeste replied hesitantly. "He's--" Just then, Jack left the house and went to Celeste's side.
Her mother gasped. "That's -- he's a -- pirate! Celeste get away from him -- that's Jack Sparrow!"
"Captain Jack Sparrow, Mother." Celeste corrected.
Her mother froze. "Oh, no… you didn't… he's not… oh, my…"
"Yes, Mother, he's my husband." Celeste said, pleased with her mother's shock. She looked up at Jack and took his arm. "Jack, this is my mother." Jack looked fairly surprised, remembering that she hadn't seen her mother in many years.
"And -- and--" her mother stuttered, gesturing to Celeste's stomach.
Celeste smiled and placed a hand on her stomach. "Sparrow." she said cheerfully.
"My -- my daughter married a -- hey!" her mother remembered something. "You stole my ship!" Jack looked panicked. "The Blue Rose!"
"Oh -- oh, yeah…" Jack stuttered. "Well, it er, it certainly 'elped me…"
"You'll be paid back in full." Celeste assured. "We have no financial problems."
"Well… thank you…" her mother said.
Jack cleared his throat. "Captain Jack Sparrow, ma'am. It's a pleasure to meet you." Her mother held out her hand and Jack kissed it. "I can promise that I will take perfect care of your daughter. I am deeply in love with her."
"Well… that's good to hear." her mother said.
"He's reformed, Mother." Celeste told her. "He gave up crime and alcohol and all of that. Commodore Norrington even pardoned him here."
"I'm glad." her mother said.
"So, did you remarry like Father did?" Celeste asked.
"Yes, actually." her mother replied.
"I thought so." Celeste added. "So, who is he?"
"His name is Sean Richardson." her mother told her. "He manufactures ships."
"Sounds interesting." Celeste said. "Does he make all the money you've always cared so much about?"
"Now, Celeste, don't be bitter." her mother scolded.
"Don't you dare scold me." Celeste accused. "I'm not eight years old anymore-- you have no right."
"Celeste, it happened!" her mother exclaimed. "I did what I did and, honestly, it was better for you! It's in the past -- over and done! I can't change it, so why don't we talk like civilized people?!"
Celeste snorted. "Just because it's over and done doesn't make it right."
"Why must you be so stubborn?!" her mother cried. "After all these years, you haven't changed one bit!"
"I have changed, Mother, for the better." Celeste stated.
Her mother sighed impatiently. "Don't even worry about the ship, Celeste, we have enough money that it doesn't really matter. I'm sorry it had to be this way, but you're obviously not willing to get over the past."
"Just because it's in the past doesn't mean it's all alright!" Celeste exclaimed. "How can I forgive you for ruining my life?! You know, I blamed myself for years for you leaving! I thought I had done something wrong! Do you know what that did to me?! Do you know how much is mentally wrong with me because of you?! If you hadn't left, my stepmother wouldn't have destroyed me and all the other bad things that happened might not have happened!"
"No, other bad things would have happened." her mother stated. "I know what would've happened and you would've blamed me no matter what. I'm sorry, Celeste, but there's nothing I can do to change it. You can either forgive me or you can't." Celeste glared at her. "Fine. Well, if you decide to grow up and accept the fact that I did what I did, and act like an adult, I'll be here for quite a while longer. My ship is called the Golden Lily." She turned on her heel and marched off.
Jack and Celeste went back to the Pearl and down to their room. Celeste sat down on the bed and Jack sat next to her.
"Why does my family have to be so stupid?" Celeste asked, annoyed.
"Well, not all o' your family, love." Jack injected.
"Oh, I didn't mean you, Jack, you know I didn't mean you." she said. "My stupid mother…"
"Don' think about it anymore, darling." he told her, putting an arm around her. "It doesn' matter. Anyway, your real family is the people who love you. Everyone on the Pearl is crazy about you -- all the family you need is righ' 'ere." Celeste smiled and leaned up against him. He placed a hand on her stomach. "Besides, in a couple of months, we'll 'ave everythin' in the world."
"You're right…" Celeste replied. "What would I do without you, Jack?"
He smiled and hugged her. "I love you, sweetheart."
"I love you, too." she told him, and he kissed her.
The next day, Anne came aboard the Pearl to visit. She had gone to visit a relative of hers in America and had just gotten back the night before; she'd been gone for a whole year. Celeste and Jack came up on deck and greeted her. They talked about the goings on of everyone and everything when Anne noticed something (took her long enough).
"Oh, Celeste, you're pregnant!" she exclaimed.
"Haha, yes, I am." Celeste replied.
"How far along are you?" Anne asked.
"Seven months." Celeste told her.
"That's great." Anne said. "Congratulations."
"Thank you." Celeste replied and Jack put an arm around her. "Jack keeps telling random people that he's going to be a father. Half of Port Royal thinks he's daft." she said, smiling, and leaning up against him. She put an arm around him. He smiled.
"Well, I'm proud." Jack said. "Can't deny that." he kissed Celeste's cheek.
"You both excited?" Anne asked.
"Of course." Celeste replied. "And we couldn't be happier. Everything's perfect."
Just then, Gillette ran aboard, ranting about something.
"What's wrong?" Celeste asked.
"There's been a murder!" Gillette exclaimed. "Commodore Norrington has been killed!"
"WHAT?!" Celeste and Anne cried, shocked. Gillette ran off the ship.
"I - I can't -- I have to go!" Anne exclaimed, running off the ship as well.
"Oh, no…" Jack mumbled. "I'll be back in a moment, darling." he said to Celeste and went to Gibbs at the other side of the ship to tell him the terrible news.
Celeste was stressfully breathing quickly and glancing around, horrorstruck. She grabbed onto the ship's railing, clutching her stomach, feeling a sudden, horrific pain.
"J-Jaaaack!!!" Celeste screamed. Jack looked over and, upon seeing her, he dashed over and caught her form behind just as her knees gave out.
"Darling, wh-what's wrong?!" he asked urgently.
"Ahhhh!!" she cried in pain.
"What is it?!" he asked, panicking.
"Oh, Jack, help!! It hurts!!" she groaned, still clutching her stomach.
Anamaria ran over to them. "What's wrong?" she asked.
"I-I don't know!" Jack replied. "She -- she jus'--" he broke off. "Darling…" He placed a hand on her stomach worriedly.
"Get her into your room." Anamaria ordered very seriously. "Hurry." Jack picked Celeste up and carried her to their room; Anamaria followed. He set her on the bed.
"Ahhhh!!!" she yelled in pain.
"Jack, get out!" Anamaria ordered. "You'll just be in the way! Get out!" He left, feeling rather hurt, and stationed himself outside of the room.
An hour or more later, Sierra came downstairs. However long it was, Jack couldn't tell, it felt like he'd been pacing for days.
"Jack." Sierra said from behind him. "What's going on?"
"I-I don' know…" he replied, under more stress than she'd ever seen him before. "Celeste… jus'… I-I don' know…" He felt sick -- he was so worried. "It's… not fair… I've always been able to control any situation… that's why I don' ever get much stress on me… I could always do somethin' to turn the tables… but this… I can't do anythin' about it…"
"…You know," Sierra began, moving closer to him, "I could've given you a child, Jack."
"Not now, Sierra -- never, but not now."
Suddenly, she hugged him. "You shouldn't have to suffer like this." she told him. "I could--" He violently shoved her away; she hit the wall and fell to the floor with a thud.
"'ow dare you do this now?" he asked venomously. "When my wife is in there with who-knows-what wrong with 'er. You 'aven' 'ad to 'ear it, Sierra… You 'aven' 'ad to 'ear it… I've 'ad to stay out 'ere an' do nothin' while I listen to 'er scream." Sierra looked at him guiltily. "Sierra, once an' for all, I don' love you -- I never will love you. If you can't accept that an' stop thinkin' that you 'ave a chance, then I will make you leave this ship whether you 'ave a place to go or not." She stood up, looking rather hurt. "Celeste is all I care about, savvy?"
Sierra, with tears in her eyes, stood up, turned, and left. Jack was too worried about Celeste to care for one moment about Sierra.
A while later, hours, days, weeks, Jack couldn't tell, Anamaria emerged from the room, carrying something wrapped up in a large bundle of sheets and blankets.
"Is -- is she alrigh'?" Jack asked urgently. He'd been pacing the corridors all the while. Anamaria sighed and looked up at him, searching for words. "Well?" he asked impatiently.
She took a deep breath. "She's doing alright, but…"
"But what?!" he demanded.
"Jack… she lost the baby…" she said sadly.
Jack's heart sunk. "Wh-what…?" he asked in a small voice.
"I'm so sorry…" Anamaria told him, tears in her eyes. "Er, go in and stay with her. I'll break the news to the crew…" she sniffled and hurried off.
Jack opened the door and entered the room. "Hi, darling." he greeted gently, closing the door. He lied down on the bed next to her.
"Hi…" she sniffled.
"'ow're you feelin'?" he asked.
"It doesn't matter." she said bitterly.
"Oh, darling, o' course it matters." he comforted. She began sobbing and he put an arm around her.
"I'm sorry, Jack! I'm so sorry!" she sobbed. "I'm just good for nothing! My stepmother was right! I can't do anything -- I'm a disappointment!"
"Sweetheart, don' blame yourself." Jack told her. He sighed. "Jus' get some rest, savvy?"
She sighed and snuggled up to him, sobbing into his chest. "D-do you still love me, Jack?"
"O' course I do, love." he replied, sounding hurt. "I'll always love you. No matter what 'appens." She continued sobbing. The more he listened to her cry, the more he was compelled to do the same. Tears formed in his eyes and he shut them tightly. She grabbed onto a lock of his hair for something to hold onto.
"B-but Jack… it -- it was our baby…!" she sobbed. "Why is this happening to us?"
He didn't reply. She looked up at him -- tears were streaming down his cheeks. She laid her head next to his. Their tears ran together as they wept over their loss and tried to fall asleep. Jack hadn't cried this much since the loss of her sister and Celeste hadn't cried this much in her life.
An hour or so later, Anamaria peeked in. she walked over to the side of the bed and tapped Jack's shoulder. He'd been too troubled to sleep, but Celeste (who was quite troubled as well) was exhausted and had fallen asleep. Jack pried himself from Celeste (after he got her to release the lock of his hair), being careful not to wake her. He and Anamaria stepped out of the room.
"Jack," she began, "I want to have a word with you about Celeste."
"Well, first I 'ave to thank you for takin' care o' 'er." Jack told her. "'ow do you know so much about it?"
"I have five older sisters and had to deliver quite a few babies." she said. "Had to deal with a situation like this, too."
"Well, thank you very much."
"Of course." she replied sincerely. "Now, she'll need a lot of rest… and a lot of time to recover."
"'ow much time?" he asked. "I don' want her sufferin' for long…"
"This nearly killed her, Jack." she said. "It'll take a while for recovery."
"It nearly…?"
"Yes." she confirmed. "It could've easily killed her tonight. …You don't know how close you were to losing her… She was very brave, though. She held on long enough to pull herself through."
"But… she's goin' to be alrigh', isn' she?" he asked, concerned.
"Yes, I believe she will be." she replied.
"Good." Jack said. "Thank you again, Anamaria, really."
"Of course." she replied. "She's a very strong girl -- she'll do alright."
"Aye." Jack agreed. "…I can't believe she 'ad to go through that… She's such a little girl…"
"Aye, she is rather slim, but… strong."
"Er, will she… er… can she still..?"
"I believe that she'll be able to have other children. This was caused by shock, so it wasn't a fault of hers, but it did to some damage. Still, I think it'll be fine. …I know you're eager to have a family, Jack, but don't jump in and go at it quite yet." Anamaria told him, smiling. "You guys do that, you know." Jack laughed uneasily, rather embarrassed. "It's really sweet that you want a family -- truthfully, I never expected it from you. I always figured you to be a Tortuga man, really."
"Why does everyone always say that?" Jack mumbled.
"Anyway, I'd say that she'll be recovered in about… two months." she said. "But, basically, when I say she can return to normal life, she can."
"Alrigh'." Jack said. "Erm, anyway, I should, er…" he gestured to the door.
"Oh, er… by the way… er… do you want to know what the baby would've been?" she asked. "I didn't think you wanted to see it, so…"
"No. No, I don' want to see it…" he said, his heart aching. "What was it?"
Jack went back into his room and shut the door quietly . He then got back into bed and, lying on his side, put an arm around Celeste. She opened her eyes and looked up at him.
"Oh, I'm sorry, love, did I wake you?" he asked.
She shook her head. "Where'd you go?" she asked, turning on her side.
"Oh, talkin' to Anamaria." he replied.
"About what?" she asked.
"Jus' thankin' 'er for 'elpin' you." he told her.
"Good." she said. "She really did help. I don't know what I would have done without her."
Jack smiled. He ran his fingers through her hair. "You look beautiful, darling."
"Oh, I'm sure." she said sarcastically. "After all that, I probably look like a sea monster."
"Well, you're a beautiful sea monster, then." he told her jokingly. She laughed. "But no, you do look beautiful. Nothin' can change that." She smiled.
Her smile faded and she sighed. "Jack… I'm sorry about all this… I know how much you wanted a child… so did I… I suppose I'm just not good enough--"
"Darling, it isn' your fault!" Jack insisted. "An' you are good enough! It was just the shock of the news! Anamaria said so and I know so!"
She sighed and nodded.
"Besides," he continued, "Anamaria said that after you recover, we can try again, alrigh'?"
"Well, I'm glad to hear that." Celeste said.
After a few moments, Jack spoke again. "Are you feelin' alrigh', darling? Does it 'urt?"
"Well… yes, it does hurt… a lot…" she replied. "And I have a feeling it's going to keep hurting for a really long time… Not just physically, either… neither one of our hearts is going to heal from this very easily… and certainly not for a long time… and certainly not entirely…"
"Oh, sweetheart, I'm so sorry." he sighed. "If there's anythin' I can do to 'elp -- anythin' I can do or get for you at any hour of the day, you jus' tell me, savvy?"
"Savvy." she said.
He scooted down and kissed her stomach.
"I 'ope you feel better soon, Princess." he told her, and moved back up to where he was before. "I love you, Celeste." he sighed and she snuggled up to him.
"I love you, too, Jack." she said, and he stroked her hair as she fell into an easier sleep.
Oh, so sad. Yes, so sad. Yes, i know. yes, so sad. Yes. Anyway, it gets better, so please dont abandon me! PLEASE REVIEW!!
I love you all!