Usual disclaimers, but happy Easter anyway!

With thanks to Mrs. Depp, Bauer4ever, Rose Pearl, Orli's Hot Chick, Miss Sophia, A Depp Girl, The Great and Powerful Oz, Ducky, and of course, Hils.

Rose Pearl, the use of pigeons is explained in this chapter.

A few have asked how long Jenny has to go and surprisingly I had made a note for myself in this chapter! She has around 2 months left.

Chapter Thirteen: 'It's always time fer bed where yer concerned.'

Jack surveyed the people sitting around his table with satisfaction. The three women had cooked up a veritable feast between them and dinner had been accompanied by the telling of various adventures that had been had by each of them during the past year or so and now, ably helped by drinks, the mood was mellowing.

'It's a shame we can't stay here,' Shay lamented. 'It's a lovely little town.'

'Aye,' Jack agreed. 'It is, but we have no choice.' He paused to take a sip of port, savouring the taste before swallowing it. 'I have tried ter make a home for Jenny somewhere nice because I knew she didn't want to settle in a pirate town, but it simply isn't safe enough anywhere else.'

'Isn't there a chance that another pirate might…?' Patience left the words unsaid. Although she had told Shay's kin about what had happened to Jenny, she did not think that her friend would want it discussed openly.

'Yes,' Jack sighed heavily. 'Which is why I am going to employ guards once we get to Tortola.' He braced himself, waiting for the eruption from Jenny, as this was the first time she had heard about it.

'I don't bloody think so, Jack Sparrow!' she exploded. 'How would you know that the guards could be trusted? I'm not having strangers living in my house and that is final!'

'She's right about th'guards,' Shay agreed. 'Th'only people I'd trust would be crew.'

'And I'm not having the men give up their time at sea to nursemaid me,' she warned.

'Well I'll build an impenatrable fortress then!' came Jack's ripsote. 'Damn!' he cursed to himself. 'Why didn't I leave it instead of spoiling a good evening?' He stood and walked around the table to where his wife was sitting, glowering at him. 'Look, luv, I'm sorry. I should have told ya about my plans before.'

'It would be nice to be informed every now and then,' she replied sharply.

'Would you want me living at the new house?' Luke enquired, speaking up for the first time. 'You know I would look after her.'

'I know that, mate,' Jack smiled. 'And I thank you for it. But firstly, I'd want more than one man, and secondly, you'll be wantin' to lead your own life before too long. You might meet someone an' want a home of your own.'

'Maybe, but we could cross that bridge when we come to it,' the former naval man reasoned.

'There's Tom as well,' Patience put in. 'Plus Fin and Sive will be living close by.'

'No,' Jack shook his head. 'I want proper guards...'

'Jack!' Jenny protested. 'I wouldn't feel comfortable – safe, even. Please don't do this.'

'Is there a king of Tortola?' Shay asked. 'Someone ye could pay ter make sure she's safe.'

'Aye, Edmund Condent.' Jack replied.

'Isn't he in the brotherhood?' Jenny enquired, the name sounding familiar to her.

'Yes, Jen, which means he isn't around Tortola that much because of th'brotherhood. So although he would put word out, I would still rather employ guards as well.'

'Can I make a suggestion?' Fin put in. 'I've noticed that one or two or yer crew are gettin' on a bit or have some disability – why don't ye ask th'crew if anyone wants ter volunteer to become a permanent guard once we get to Tortola?'

'I would prefer that,' Jenny said, looking up hopefully at Jack.

'That's is not a bad idea,' Jack grinned, leaning across the table and shaking Fin's hand. 'Thanks.'

'A pleasure,' Finan grinned back. 'Glad I still have me uses.'

'Aye, being a lazy good fer nothin' bastard!' Shay teased, ducking as his older brother jokingly threatened him with a table knife.

'I'll give ye lazy in a minute, little brother,' Fin warned, winking at Jenny.

'Few gawds sake, grow up!' Patience sighed, rolling her eyes. 'Men,' she chuckled. 'Act like children to th'day they die.'

'I think I will clear these dishes then retire to bed, I'm exhausted.' Jenny tried unsuccessfully to stifle a yawn.

'Stay where ye are,' Sive replied, standing up. 'We'll see to these.'

'No! You're my guests…'

'And you're tired,' Jack chided, placing his hands on his wife's shoulders to prevent her from standing.

'But…'

'It looks like you're outnumbered,' Luke chuckled.

'Aye, six ter one,' Patience teased. 'So go ter bed. We'll make sure ya clean up after us another time.'

'Yes,' Jenny smirked. 'You would…'

'Come on, missy!' Jack chivied, helping her from the chair. 'Time fer bed.'

'It's always time fer bed where yer concerned,' Patience jibed.

'Ya can't blame a man when his wife's this beautiful.'

'You old charmer,' Jenny blushed. 'Goodnight. Thank you all for a lovely evening.'

'Oi - less of th'old! Night folks,' Jack grinned as he ushered Jenny from the dining room, picking up a lamp as he went.

'Sleep well,' Patience called out as they went.

'Who said anythin' about sleep?'

'Behave,' Jenny giggled as she started to climb the stairs. 'I know – you're always good…'

'Are you teasin' me, eh?' Jack growled, fondling her backside as he followed her.

'As if I'd do that,' she chuckled. 'Seriously though Jack, I am tired.'

'Don't worry luv, we'll just kiss an' cuddle, eh?'

'If you can get close enough to cuddle me,' she laughed as she opened the door to the room.

'I'll give it a damned good try,' he grinned setting the lamp on the bedside table.

'Would you help me undress please?'

'Jen!' Jack admonished gently. 'Ya need ter ask?' He undid the losely tied laces at the front of her dress and lifted the garment over her head, brushing his lips along her exposed collarbone once she was free of it.

'Mmm,' she sighed, shivering at his touch. 'You have the most delicious lips,' she whispered hoarsely.

Jack chuckled as he worked his way to her ear, tugging on the lobe with his teeth. 'Glad you think so,' he murmured, pulling her undershift up and then over her head. 'Ya sure you're still tired?' he rasped, caressing her naked body.

'Mmmm,' Jenny groaned. 'Maybe I'm getting my second wind.' She pulled Jack's shirt out of his breeches and ran her hands up his muscled back, feeling him shiver at her touch. 'Why do you always do up more buttons when I want to undress you quickly?' she chuckled as she tried to pull his shirt over his head, unsuccessfully.

'You want to undress me quickly no matter how many buttons I have done up!' he teased, undoing a couple of the fastenings and ridding himself of the garment.

Jenny traced her fingers across the two shot scars then down to his nipple, flitting across the hard bud before closing her mouth over it and sucking while her hands worked at the laces on his breeches.

'An' ya reckon I have a delicious mouth,' he growled as he unpinned her hair and tangled his fingers through it, pulling her in closer.

Jenny yanked his breeches down and cupped his balls in her hand, running her thumb along his manhood. 'I need you,' she moaned as she broke away from her ministrations.

'Let's get you on th'bed then,' Jack grinned, kicking off his shoes and breeches and helping her on to the bed and over onto her knees. 'Comfy?'

'As I'll ever be being this large,' she chuckled, turning her head to one side and resting it on a pillow.

'Tell me if you're not,' he murmured as he covered her body with his and guided himself into position.

'I will,' Jenny promised, thrusting her hips back and gasping as his length plunged deep inside her.

'Sweet Jesus!' Jack swore. 'Give me warnin' when yer goin' ter do that!'

'And spoil the fun? Not on your life,' her laugh trailing off to a moan as he started to thrust slowly into her.

'Still tired?' Jack chuckled, nuzzling and nipping at her neck.

'Not as tired as I'm going to be,' she giggled, turning her head back a bit more in order to kiss him.

'Bet I get off ter sleep before you do!' he joked.

'Just so long as you finish the job in hand,' Jenny warned. 'I don't care when you fall asleep.'

'That's all ya want me for, eh? Ter fuck ya!'

'Of course,' Jenny teased. 'And very well you do it, too.'

'Yer cheeky madame,' Jack growled, rubbing his fingers along her slit and chuckling softly as she reacted instantly.

'That's cheating!' she protested breathlessly.

'How so? Ya want me ter finish th'job in hand, an' I'm startin ter feel a little tired myself,' he ribbed, paying particular attention to the hard nub within her folds.

'Oh… Jack…' she panted, bucking her hips. 'More, please.'

'With pleasure,' Jack rumbled, rubbing and thrusting a little harder. 'Just don't scream too loud, eh? We have guests remember!'

'Jack…' she hissed, grasping the sheets as her climax drew near. 'Stop bloody teasing.'

'Heh! You love it when I tease ya, so stop your moanin' woman.'

'Oh…!' Jenny groaned as her passion spilled over and she buried her face in the pillow, crying out his name over and over until she was fully spent.

'You called, luv?' Jack chuckled in her ear as he continued to push deeper, gasping as she ground her hips until he relinquished control and shot his seed inside her with a grunt, before withdrawing gently and collapsing beside her, panting for breath.

'Just make sure you roll over th'other side,' he grinned. 'Ya'd crush me to death otherwise…'

'Don't tempt me!' Jenny giggled, rolling onto her side and facing her husband, stroking his damp face. 'I bet they didn't hear a thing,' she grinned.

'No, you were very restrained – fer once!'

'Speak for yourself,' she retorted, reaching over to kiss his lips.

'No,' he mumbled. 'I'd rather kiss ya…'

'Mmm, me too…'

A week later

'Jack!' Rebecca smiled as he walked through the doors of the Faithful Bride with another man and a woman, neither of whom she had seen before. 'Glad ter see ya again.'

'Yer still runnin' th'show then?' Jack smiled as he walked to the bar. 'Two ales, please. An' d'ya think ya could accommodate Francine here?'

'Right away, Sir,' Becky winked as she reached for a couple of beakers and a pitcher of ale. 'You a whore?' she asked.

'Aye, I worked at the Arms before it was hit. Can I come an' work fer you?'

'Th'more th'merrier,' Becky grinned. 'There are some girls out back, if ya want ter go through.'

'Ta,' Francine smiled. 'Thanks fer everythin', Sparrer – an' you look after me friend, Shay Connelly. Ya hear?'

'Aye,' Shay chuckled. 'I'll take good care of her.' He watched as the whore disappeared through a door behind the bar then turned as someone spoke.

'Bout time you got in!' came Batholemew Roberts' voice from a snug. 'I was beginnin' ter think I was th'only one still sailing th'waters.'

'I came in a couple of weeks ago,' Jack informed him, placing some coins on the bar then walking with Shay towards the direction of the voice.

'So th'new proprietor told me,' Roberts smiled as Jack entered the snug. 'How come? An' who's yer friend?'

'Shay Connelly, he'll be sittin' in on all future meetings, savvy? Shay, this is Bartholemew Roberts – you may have heard of him,' he winked at the other pirate captain, who laughed in turn. 'We realised that the waters around Port Royal were too quiet so headed back. We saw th'Navy as they were leaving.'

'Ah. I bet I've got a bit of news that you didn't know. Bledri Roberts was a spy fer Farrier!'

'Bleedin' hell!' Jack swore, nearly choking on his drink. 'How th'hell did ya find that out?'

'Rebecca told me- plus one or two others, Tew included. He'll be in shortly.'

'How was your mission?' Jack enquired. 'Did ya hit th'base?'

'Yes - but not much damage, unfortunately. Their guns were pretty impressive,' he shrugged ruefully.

'Can't win 'em all,' Jack sympathised, secretly pleased with himself that he had flattened the base in the Caymen Islands.

'Ah! There yer are!' Thomas Tew greeted, settling himself opposite Jack and glancing at Shay but saying nothing. He knew Jack would not bring in anyone he did not trust implicitly. 'Did Bart tell ya?'

'Aye, just,' Jack nodded. 'So they knew that no-one would be in Tortuga – but how? So quickly?'

'Dunno,' Tew shrugged. 'We were tryin' ter work that out ourselves earlier.'

'Unless he has more than one spy an' they sail to an' from here an' Port Royal?' Batholemew Roberts suggested.

'Possibly. But it'd still take a while,' Jack reasoned. 'An' why attack whilst we are not in port? I'd have thought they would welcome th'opportunity to wipe us all out in one fell swoop.'

'With just three ships against our eleven? Aye, eleven,' he nodded at Jack's sharp look. 'We've lost George Lowther and Sam Bellamy,' he sighed.

'They attacked Bridgetown, didn't they?'

'Aye, Jack. From what Jack Fowler told me when we passed a few days back, they were set upon by a couple of merchant ships who had followed them. They had no ammunition an' were overpowered.'

'How th'hell did Fowler know?' Jack demanded.

'He heard tavern gossip in Port of Spain an' went ter Bridgetown to ask around, discretely of course. He sold his news fer a good price,' Thomas Tew said bitterly.

'I don't trust him' Batholemew Roberts announced. 'He'd betray us sooner than you can hoist a flag.'

'Aye, that he would,' the two men agreed.

'Afternoon, gentlemen!' Edmund Condent joined them in the snug, a pitcher of ale in one hand and an empty mug in the other. 'What's been happening?'

Elias Beauchamp sat back in his chair, pondering on what Bledri Jenkins had told him during a meeting earlier that morning. He had not been able to add much more to what they already knew, but at least they had descriptions of the other pirates within the brotherhood, and the names of their ships, and that, he decided, was better than nothing.

'Sir?' Captain Farrier enquired, breaking his reverie.

'Sorry, George - what was that?'

'I am going to be sending another messenger pigeon to my spy – is there any specific instructions you want to pass on?'

'No,' the Commodore sighed. 'Just the usual: find out as much as he can.' He pressed his fingers together contemplating another thought. 'Will your pigeons still work being as it's a different person?'

'Aye, Sir. They are trained to fly to a particular place, which the spy knows about. It won't make any difference.'

'Very well,' he nodded 'Tell your man it is imperative that we find out as much as we can about the brotherhood – more so than ever.'

'I will, Sir. Is that all?'

'Yes.' The Commodore dismissed his captain with a wave of the hand and went back to mulling over recent events in his mind.

'Gawd blimey! Will you lot keep it down?' Becky exclaimed, shouting over the noise the brotherhood of pirates were making.

'Sorry luv,' Jack apologised, shrugging his shoulders at her. 'Come on, gentlemen. Th'lady's right, we are makin' too much noise.'

'Look, even though there is eleven of us, I don't believe we can attack Port Royal just yet. We don't have enough ammunition for a start,' Bartholemew Roberts reasoned.

'We'll never get anythin' done at this rate,' John Rose Archer shouted. 'An' just who put you in charge anyway? I say we take a vote on it.'

'Aye,' cried the majority of men, Jack and Thomas Tew being the exceptions.

'Cast a vote if ya like, but you decide ter attack Port Royal then count me out,' Jack spat in disgust.

'Yer a bleedin' coward, Sparrow!' Stede Bonnet taunted, jabbing a finger towards the captain of the Black Pearl.

'No-one calls me a coward,' Jack exploded, standing and glaring at the man, Shay at his side in an instant. 'I started this brotherhood. I was th'one who said we had ter do somethin' when everyone else was soilin' their breeches, an' if yer still consider me a coward, then let's take this outside, eh?'

'Jack, Jack… calm down.' Thomas Tew soothed, standing in front of his friend and blocking his view of his tormentor. 'He ain't worth it, an' b'sides, it's just th'ale talking.'

'Bonnet, shut yer big mouth. Sparrow, listen to Tom.' Roberts stood and addressed the table once Jack sat back down and Stede Bonnet glowered silently. 'We have been more successful than any of us anticipated – let's not ruin it by in-fighting. If you want to vote for a leader, so be it. But I don't see the need. We're captains, every one of us – capable of making our own decisions. We're not common crewmen who need to be lead. Let us carry on the way we have been and really put the Navy on the back foot.'

'I agree,' Thomas Price of Neptune's Knave, spoke up. 'We should all make the decisions, not just one of us.'

'So when do we attack Port Royal? Th'Commodore will probably get reinforcements in soon. We can't afford ter wait that long!' Edward Teach insisted. 'We must attack soon.'

'Where else can we attack?' Nathanien Gordon put in. 'There's nowhere left. It has to be there.'

'All those in favour of attacking now, say 'Aye.' Stede Bonnet urged, nodding his head when most of the men acknowledged him.

'All those against?' Jack sighed, raising his hand along with Bartholemew Roberts, Thomas Tew and Thomas Price.

'That's seven for an' four against – we attack!' Edward Teach crowed, lifting his mug of ale in salute.

'No, six,' Edmond Condent replied. 'I'm not siding with you, nor you,' he nodded towards Jack and Bartholemew Roberts. 'I'm off.' He stood and walked out of the tavern without a backwards glance, leaving the rest of the brotherhood to fight it out between them.

'You can attack – don't include me,' Jack said sourly, standing and pushing his way past the men.

'Me neither,' Tew agreed, joining him along with the others who had voted against.

'Fine! Piss off then – we don't need ya!' John Rose Archer taunted. 'There are still six of us against three Navy ships.'

'Bloody fools, the lot of you,' Bartholemew Roberts muttered under his breath as he followed Jack's lead. 'Is th'Tortuga Arms still standing?'

'Nah,' Thomas Price replied. 'Ruined like most of th'rest of 'em.'

'Here, there's a back room ya can use if ya like,' Becky suggsted. 'Don't want ter be losin' yer custom, just because of that lot.'

'Ta luv,' Jack smiled, realising that she had green eyes like Jenny.

'Ya still happily married?' she asked quietly so only Jack could hear her.

Jack frowned, wondering how she knew he had been thinking of his wife. 'Very,' he replied. 'So you might as well turn yer attentions elsewhere.'

'Not seen anythin' I like as much,' she shrugged, giving him a knowing look. 'I'll bring in some rum,' she said to the others. 'Won't be long.'

'What was all that about?' Shay asked, looking quizzically at Jack. He hoped it was not as it seemed.

'She's madly in love with me,' Jack quipped, making light of it.

'Ya always did have a way with women,' Thomas Tew chuckled. 'Must say, I was surprised when I heard ya got married.'

'I was surprised when I realised I wanted ter get married,' Jack laughed.

'Here we go, gentlemen,' Rebecca smiled as she returned with bottles and mugs on a tray, which she set down on a small table at the side of the room. 'If ya need anythin' else, just shout,' she said, looking once more at Jack.

'We will,' Roberts assured her, shutting the door firmly behind her as she left.

'What do we do?' Shay asked.

'We leave them to commit suicide,' Jack shrugged. 'Then recruit some more to th'brotherhood.'

'Ya reckon any more will want ter fight, especially after th'Navy make kindling out of their ships?' Price retorted, nodding his head in the general direction of the main bar and their former cohorts.

'Not to mention shark fodder out of them!' Thomas Tew added.

'Perhaps try elsewhere, like San Juan or Tortola,' Roberts suggested.

'I'm headin' out to Tortola myself, next week. I'll ask around,' Jack suggested, hoping they would not realise the real reason he was going to Tortola.

'Fair enough - I can try San Juan. Here's to our continuedsuccess!' Tew toasted, raising his mug.

'Our continued success!' the remaining men chorused.