It took Jack and his crew longer to get back to land then it had to get to the caves. This was largely due to a storm that had hit them, throwing them off course. But part of their sluggish return was the fact that Jack was confident that Anamaria would be fine by the time he got back- so there was no need to rush. At least- that's what he thought…
Jack strolled off the Black Pearl rather cockily, half expecting Anamaria to come rushing up to him. He wasn't too put out when she didn't, after all- it wasn't really like her was it! He carried along at a leisurely pace. It was only when he smiled at Valerie and she didn't smile back that he begun to wonder what was up. Surly if Anamaria was fine once more everyone would be jolly.
"Ello Val- where's me girl?" Valerie frowned at Jack, confused by his lopsided grin.
"Where you left her Jack." There was a pause. "Did you get the crystal?" a frown graced Jacks face, making it his turn to be confused.
"I found it- it had the dent in it and-" A bright smile came onto Valerie's face, she spoke interrupting Jack.
"Oh excellent- well… hand it over then and I'll check it's the right one and we can smash it and get rid of that awful curse once and for all."
"Valerie- love- I've already- wait. Are you tellin' me tha' Anamaria isn't better?" The colour drained from both their faces- both realizing the mistake that had happened.
"Oh Jack… what have you done?"
Jack walked into the dimly lit room where Anamaria lay. She was on her side, facing away from him. Her face was turned so that only her left side was shown properly- a way of reducing the risk of Thomas rejecting her. She was asleep- her body moving up and down steadily with her breathing. Jack went round and sat on the chair next to the bed simply watching her.
Earlier on he realized the mistake he had made was far worse then he could have anticipated before. His 'little' mistake had caused Anamaria to become more in pain- the side effects of the 'curse' growing. Not only was she in more pain but her life had been shortened considerably. The maximum time Jack had to find the missing gem was now 7 and half months. Maybe even less. And all because he thought he was being clever by crushing the gem before he knew a hundred percent that it was the right one. That man had tricked him. He knew he wasn't going to be able to kill Jack- he knew he would be the one to die. He had made the gem obvious in his pocket and had dented it to make it look as though it was the one Jack needed. Wyler was a smarted man than Jack had taken him for.
Jack didn't jump back when Anamaria opened her eyes. Valerie had warned him that Ana had been awake the last few days- the first time in over a month. She was weak from having barley any nutrients or water along with the virus that was slowly killing her. Neither of them spoke for a few minuets- Ana's eyes searching Jack's face, automatically knowing something was wrong.
"I'm sorry Ana." Anamaria's heart sank- she wasn't sure what he was apologising for but she knew it wasn't good. Jack wasn't aware of whether she knew what was happening or not- what he had to do to make her better or what he had done that made her so much worse. "I won't let you- I won't let…" He couldn't say it; he couldn't say that there was a risk of her dying because it made it real. "I'm goin' t' find that gem and I'm goin' to get you better. I promise."
"Jack…" Anamaria's voice was hoarse and cracked- making it sound like it was painful just to speak. "I… I want you t' promise me tha' you won't let Thomas forget me."
"Why would 'e ferget you? Yer not goin' anywhere!" Anamaria sighed- a sigh that shook her whole body, which had suddenly become so frail and weak. Jack could hardly bare to watch her- knowing he was the root of the problem.
"JACK!" Although her voice was hoarse and cracked she still managed to sound fierce. "Don't be an idiot all yer life. We both know it's likely I'm not goin' t' make it. 'At's fine- I can deal with that. But I can't deal with thinkin' my baby won't know who I am- who I was. 'E won't remember me, 'e isn't old enough yet, so I need ye t' tell 'im. I can't cope with thinkin' my baby, the most important person in my world, won't know who I am in a few years time- won't remember me. He has to know that I loved him- that I'll always love 'im. Please Jack. Please don't let him ferget me." Jacks face was turned away from Anamaria- she couldn't see the expression on his face. It was several moments before Jack replied, finally turning back to face her, his expression set, not showing any of what he was thinking or feeling. He bought his fingers up to her face to wipe away a stray tear that had made an escape from her eye.
"I promise that if ye don't make it, he'll always know who ye were, what ye were like and 'ow much ye loved 'im. Ok?" Ana nodded slightly, her body finally relaxing back into the soft mattress beneath her. Neither said another word as Anamaria closed her eyes once more. Jack stayed in the room until he knew she was asleep, her chest rising and falling gently once more.
Jack headed into the tiny kitchen that the small house held. Sat at the table were John and Valerie- speaking in hushed tones. Valerie was now seven months pregnant, which was extremely obvious. Both looked up as Jack walked into the room, stopping their conversation quickly. Jacks eyes narrowed- what else had gone wrong that they were about to tell him about?
"Jack… why don't you sit down. We erm… we need to talk to you."
"Why don't I get the feelin' that this is goin' t' be good news?" John simply looked down at the table in answer to that question whereas Valerie gave Jack a sympathetic smile.
"Sit down Jack." Jack hesitated for a moment before pulling out a chair and plonking himself down. "Anamaria's pregnant."
Jack responded by staying silent before getting up and walking out of the door, heading towards the nearest beach where he could sit for a while trying to figure everything out in his head. The day had gone so wrong. That morning as he had spotted the island he had been in such a great mood, so full of hope that everything was going to slip back into its normal routine. Upon stepping on land everything had begun to slip away, all that hope and happiness washing away. First and foremost Anamaria was not cured; she still had that wretched curse on her. Along with that she was in more pain and her life had been cut dramatically. Now he was told she was pregnant- would their second child even make it into the world before its mother passed away- and if Anamaria did survive, would the child? What would the baby be like? Would it be harmed from the virus eating away its mother's insides? There was simply no way of knowing- and Jack assumed that by the look on Valerie's face, she had no idea what would happen. All of this had happened in the short space of a few hours, what more could go wrong?
He spent about 4 hours sat on that beach, watching the sea crash into the cliff face, before finally heading back to John and Valerie's house. Elizabeth had been out all day with Thomas, shopping Jack presumed. That meant the child was yet to see his father. No one had been expecting him, so Jack wasn't too annoyed at the fact his son had been away all day. However, when he got back to the house on the hill there was still no sign of Elizabeth and Thomas.
Jack had been back at John and Val's for about half an hour when Will burst through the door- Elizabeth in his arms and Thomas no where to be seen. Elizabeth was unconscious, sporting a rather large head wound. Jack stayed silent while they examined her, his eyes shining with worry for his son. It was only when Valerie handed him a piece of paper addressed to 'Jack Sparrow' did his world come crashing down…
The paper was a letter- well more of a statement really.
I have something of your's… Jack
CAPTAIN ROBINSON
A/N oh no! Dum dum dummiedy dum… please review :-) thanks! Captainme
Oh! i might not update too well for the next week, a little busy im afraid so im not sure if i'll be able to write! But dont worry- i will update eventually :-) soon! please review! they help egg me on to write faster! Suze