(A/N – Oh boy oh boy oh boy… Christmas is coming! Woo hoo! Along with the passing of Lindsay's 16th (11.27.05) and Stewie's 15th is this Wednesday (12.7.05)! Which can only mean one thing… flips back to the first chapter Read it, peeps! We're getting ready, lol. Well, I'll let you go now. Jack and I have a huge pile of Christmas cards to fill out, haha…)
Woot! My Reviewers love me!
x) Sentinel Sparrow - Nah, we can't flog Norry, sorry. he has a reoccuring role in this one, lol. But behind thie scenes, maybe if we found a good stick... erm, ahem... Anyways! I have not seen Constantine yet, but I shall! Haven't seen HP4 yet either because I had to work the day my church's Youth Group went last weekend -- Haha.. Well, thanks so much for reviewing, and enjoy this wonderful chapter!
x) wayunlucky13 - This is the third (and final) Just An Odd Pirate Story, sorry to say, It was so fun to write them, especially for you guys and with the suggestions of some friends. I now have them to keep and reminisce with, so yay! LoL. But don't worry, I have not stopped wiriting PotC fanfiction! What about dear Ronie and Val? LoL. After this is over, I'm starting on some LotR fanfics, so I hope you read them, too. Thanks and enjoy!
.: Right? You do love me, right:.
CLE – "Far Away" by Nickelback (Haha, two Nickelback in a row… Hope you don't mind! I can across this song just a bit ago and I absolutely love it! The beat fits nicely with the chapter, too. So enjoy it!)
What's with the disclaimers, huh? All they do is kill the whole point of spreading peace and love at this time of year. DISCLAIMERS: THE GRINCHES OF THE FANFIC WORLD.
CLAIMERS: THE BEST THING SINCE PUDDING.
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CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: "Chin up, lassie."
- 10:30 AM -
Over the course of the next five hours, lots of stuff happened. Will and Elizabeth explained (cry of defeat Eh heh…) that Jack had brought back our bridesmaid dresses and the three tuxes for himself, Will, and Thomas while we laid around in agony and pain from the freak middle of the night battle. Jess lay down on Lindsay's bed with Paige, and they rested their heads; Lindsay iced up her swollen ankle, and I passed around the Band-Aid box to Ana (who refused any healing aids of this time period) and Thomas (who graciously accepted one for his finger). Seriously, Lindsay's bedroom was like a temporary war zone hospital.
Around seven, all of us got off of our lazy butts and changed (for the exception of Anamaria and Jack, who was still asleep downstairs). Will and Thomas looked great in the suits, but I really hoped this was the last time we'd see them in them because it was just plain weird. Plus, we don't want to have another wedding issue, now do we?
Our dresses were big, red, poofy, and glittery as aforementioned, and Liz was wearing the same dress she had worn to the Christmas dance Friday night. She then quickly did each of our hair up in this French twist bun thing with a huge poinsettia that looked awesome, and then we went downstairs around eight-thirty and woke Jack up, keeping Ana hidden Lindsay's room.
He looked so nice and so different in that suit. I was panicking so badly right now and I knew it was only gonna get worse once I was walking down the aisle behind Marietta, but I couldn't imagine how my panic could be any greater. Boy was I wrong. It got a lot worse, but we'll save that til due time.
So, with such a runabout morning occurring, even more happened. Kourey and Robbie both showed up around nine-thirty/ ten o'clock, and they looked really great. It only made me bite my lip as to who I was gonna have to bring. I'd probably end up grabbing some random guy out of the congregation…
Right now, however, I am currently finishing biting all of my nails off while I sit at the kitchen table with Stewie, Paige, Kourey, and Robbie. Lindsay was making us scrambled eggs and toast, and Thomas was offering us some milk.
"No thanks," I said to him, poking at my eggs. "My stomach doesn't handle milk good to begin with, let alone when I'm having a breakdown. I'll just have some water."
"You should really eat something now, Grace," Will said, standing behind me with Liz as they sipped some coffee from a mug (which they both had taken a recent liking to). "Get your strength up."
"He's right, you know," Kourey said. "Eat some food."
"I've had plenty," I lied.
"Bullcrap!" Stewie laughed. "Eat up!" She took my fork from me and shoved a mouthful of egg into my mouth, and I choked, swallowing reluctantly however. I gave her a bit of a glare as Thomas sat my glass of requested water in front of me. Lindsay laughed as she pulled up a chair between Paige and Kourey and sat down eating.
"Thank you so much, Stewart," I said before taking a long drink from my glass. As I drank, I could hear Jack coming down the stairs, and I looked up with all of the others. He looked up from straightening his tie, and it was a very awkward moment. I swallowed the biggest lump I had ever experienced in my throat and felt my eyes start to shine up a bit. Jack sighed, stepping off of the step and looking at each of us as we held our breaths.
"Ye look great, lassies," he said now. "And how fine the lads look, too. Thomas! How's the Pearl been?"
"Erm... great, sir, except-"
"Except!" Paige said loudly, cutting him off. "Except that Gibbs and Ana have been at each other's throats lately," she said for cover.
"Oh really? Ye saw them while gettin' Thomas here?" Jack asked.
"Yeah," Lindsay said.
"And how's Ana? Keeping the crew in order?"
"Keeping them alive and well," Stewie said with a smile. "We chitchatted a bit before leaving."
"Did ye tell Ana where we went?" he asked a bit dangerously.
"Well, uh… that depends," Lindsay, said with a little laugh. "Did you want us to tell her?"
"Did ye or not?"
"Um… yes…"
"Good," he said to our surprise with a nod as he moved across the kitchen. "She should know. Would've told her and Gibbs on the parting way out, but the conditions under which we left didn't really allow for it."
"You know, you never did tell us how you got back here," I said. "You sort of just showed up on Stewie's bunk and that. Sort of just appeared."
"You mean like last time?" Robbie asked.
"Yeah, sort of," I said.
"There's no time for that, we've got too much to do," he said. "When's the limousine arrivin' now?"
"Any minute now," Lindsay said, looking up at the wall clock. "Actually, it-"
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
"-Should already be here?" I asked.
"Yeeeeah…" Lindsay said, putting her fork down and standing up.
All of us around the table stood up and made our way single file into the living room. Paige opened the door, and the tall British-looking fellow in a suit stood on the porch with his hands behind his back.
"Hi!" Paige said. "Are you the coachman?"
"Sorry?" he asked in confusion.
"You're the driver?" Kourey rephrased, poking his head between Paige's and mine.
"Yes," the man said. "Here to escort you and your company to the Monarch Shepard Church this morning. Party of nine I believe you sent for?"
"Make that eleven," I said.
"Yeah," Kourey laughed. "We sort of joined the crew."
"Oh, well, I'm afraid there may not be enough room to fit eleven comfortably…" the driver said as he stepped aside for us to exit the house.
"Well, we'll just have to fit!" Stewie said.
- Jessica's PoV -
Well, I started to go out the door behind Jack, but then I stopped abruptly with a sharp gasp. Will and Kourey turned around to look at me with concern, and I started shaking my hands because I had just remembered! Will and Kourey walked back to me, closing in. Will knew.
"What's wrong?" Kourey asked.
"We forgot something!" Will said with huge eyes now, looking back towards the kitchen. "We forgot-!"
"My purse!" I yelled loudly, turning to the driver at the door. "Could you hold the cab a minute?"
"Well sure," he said.
"Great!" I said. "Come on Kourey with a K!" I grabbed his hand, and the three of us ran towards the kitchen, but then I stopped them all again. "Wait! Does the limo happen to have a trunk?" I asked the driver.
"Yes," he said skeptically. "Why?"
"Is it a big trunk?"
"Fairly decent in size, but why?"
"Good," I said, taking off with Will and Kourey again. I poked my head back around the corner real quick and said to the driver, "Because my purse happens to be really big. Just be a dear, pop the trunk, and wait for us in the car, kay?"
I didn't wait for a reply, I just ran upstairs behind Will and Kourey who were already in Lindsay's room pulling Ana back inside the window off of the little ledge outside Lindsay's bedroom window that faced the backyard.
"What in God's name are you doing out there!" Will yelled. "In bloody daylight, too!"
"Hey, it's the back of the house, so hands off, Turner," Ana said, stepping onto the floor. "I'm coming, now let go."
"I thought we were getting your purse?" Kourey asked in confusion.
"This is my purse!" I shouted hysterically. "Come on, Ana! To the Batmobile trunk for you!"
"That's your purse?" Kourey laughed.
"No time!" Will said, pushing him out behind me and Ana. "Move!"
Down the stairs we almost killed ourselves skipping stairs and stumbling, but we flew around the corner in the kitchen into the living room and B-lined for the front door. We hid Anamaria the best we could while running to the trunk, and it was opened, as I had so politely asked for!
"In you go!" I said, pushing her forward. Ana stopped.
"Now see here," she said. "That's cramped space, that is."
"It's worse in the limo," Will reassured her, picking her up and setting her inside. "Just keep low and don't cause a fuss. We really don't need it."
With that, he shut the trunk and we ran over to the limo and hopped inside. I slid on top of Erica, and Will and Kourey squished poor Liz so she could hardly breathe. In the end, Lindsay was sitting on Will and Kourey.
"Get yer purse?" Jack asked.
My head shot up, and I nodded really fast. "Yeah. Yeah, I got it," I said. "I put it in the back because I didn't think it would fit in here with all of us." Everyone who knew Ana was really back there held their tongues and looked at me quietly.
"I think it would have fit," Robbie said to me.
"Yeah, well it just goes to show what you know then!" I said, sticking my tongue out at him.
"Hey-"
"Okay!" Erica shouted in distress. "Mr. Driver! Please drive now!"
"Right-o, mum," he responded. I laughed.
"Mum?" Erica mouthed in confusion. A few of us laughed even more.
- Erica's PoV – At The Church -
Getting out of the limo was such fun…
And after that, us wedding participants were led to the room behind the sanctuary, and Liz parted from us. Stewie, Will, and Kourey stayed behind again to get her 'purse' out of the trunk, and I was mentally scolding myself for forgetting about Anamaria. Sheeze…
"Mr. Sparrow, I need to have a word with you," Isabelle's pastor said, poking his head into the room. "May I borrow you a moment?"
"Two if ye must," he said, heading for the doorway. "Be back in a few," he said to us.
"Actually, you won't be seeing them until the ceremony if that's all right," the pastor said. I sighed, and Jack made a face back at us of tiny disappointment.
"Right," Jack said. "See you during the ceremony then."
Then he left, and I fell down onto the hope chest wooden box thing with a huge sigh. This was not working out at all, and my nerves jumped again when Stewie returned with Will, Kourey, and Anamaria who was pitching a fit about the trunk ride.
"Please!" I said loudly and tiredly, rubbing my face. "Shut up and let's just run over the plan for the hundredth time. Ana, we've brought you here to stop this whole thing. We can't really do much from where we're standing, so you gotta come up with something."
"Something in which Jack shall not hate us in the end," Lindsay said. "Think you can manage?"
"Of course," Ana replied, unfolding her arms from in front of her and looking around at us all. "Manage I can, and manage I will."
"That's the spirit!" Stewie said. "Three cheers for Ana! Huzzah!"
"HUZZAH!" we all laughed. I smiled somewhat, still feeling extremely sick.
"Um, I'm gonna go use the bathroom, guys," I said quietly as I stood up. "I'll be back in about five minutes, okay?"
"Okay," Paige said.
"Need us to go with you?" Lindsay laughed.
"No, I'll find it," I said. "I'll be right back."
I walked out of the back room, shutting the door behind me quietly. I looked around the spacious room I was in now with the high ceiling and chandeliers. It was like a social hall, I decided. I looked up at the clock and saw that it was about half past eleven; only thirty minutes til the wedding begins. I really felt sick now.
In truth, I just wanted to get out of the room and be alone to collect myself, but I think I was breaking down even more as I failed to find the bathroom anywhere nearby. Too many things were distracting me, so I finally went into this other room decent in size with a normal ceiling and closed off. I kept the lights out and collapsed onto a nearby piano bench, my chin propped up in my hands. I started to feel tears coming, and finally I choked them back. But someone heard me.
"Don't tell me yer one of them whelps that cries at weddings."
My head slowly turned at the recognition of the voice, and as expected, there was Jack standing in the doorway in that stupid tuxedo. He looked wonderful, but this was all my fault.
"No, just at her own stupidity," I sighed, wiping my eyes and sniffing. I hunched back over with my elbows on my knees, chin in hands. Jack wasn't moving from the doorway, so I continued. "Her own idiocy, her own failure, her own fault…"
"None of this is yer fault, luv," Jack said.
"Yes it is you said it was!" I sobbed angrily in retort. "You said that I said something to make you think you could do this and I didn't mean it, Jack. I didn't. When I said that, I was mad and I was telling you who you were and that I want you to stay that way because I love you like that. The Jack I told that to is the only one I know. And now you're going and getting married and… and… and changing on me."
I held it all in despite the throbbing pain in my chest, and I shut my eyes to hold back my tears. This time, I could barely hear Jack's footsteps as he walked over to me and sat down next to me on the piano bench.
"Change… isn't always bad, darling," he said, putting an arm around me. "Lots of things change. It's an inevitable thing."
"But you can't change," I said, looking up from my hands. "You're Jack. You have to whoo every girl you see and get drunk and captain the Pearl and make witty comments. You have to look hot. Those are the rules. You have to."
"Change has no rules, sadly," Jack said to me. "And it's a part of life."
"Yeah, well life sucks," I said stubbornly.
"Don't be too hard. It's a part of life, and from the sounds of your attitude towards it, I'd say you've experienced enough to know how difficult it can be."
I looked up at him, and a very creepy moment occurred. We looked at each other in the eyes, and for once, Jack Sparrow and I actually understated one another. He knew I was afraid of change, and I knew he had experienced it, too. And from the way that creepy moment of understanding went, he didn't like it any more than I did. But he wasn't afraid like I was.
"Why can't I be brave about all this?" I asked.
"Ye are brave," Jack said. "Ye just have to give yerself a bit o' time. And if ye still aren't brave, we'll get through it together, savvy?"
I looked up at him.
"What about the code?" I asked. "Every pirate for himself? Since when does Jack Sparrow stop following the code and actually allow Little Sparrow not to?"
He gave me this look, meaning I had got him. He swallowed with a thoughtful face on and then said, "Some things are more important."
I looked at him sternly, trying to make sure he wasn't bluffing. As he stood up to go, I was even more confused.
"Wait. I don't want you to do this," I said.
"Grace, ye love to make people happy. I've noticed that 'bout ye," Jack said. "And trust me on this one. Ye've made me very happy."
"You could be happier, though, couldn't you?" I asked sadly. He was confused again, mouthing wordlessly a bit. "Never mind," I said, standing up. "If you really wanna do this and you're sure, then I guess change is inevitable."
Jack smiled and wrapped an around me as we faced the doorway. Suddenly, the church bells started chiming, and I looked up at the clock. Five minutes til the Wedding Marche.
"Chin up, lassie," he said as we walked towards the door. "Chin up."
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Ta da! Done in just two days! So proud of myself…
Jack: Whoopie!
Happy Almost 15th Birthday, too, Stewie! Just 59 more minutes! Haha… And guess what guys? I was offered to be a Student Direct for the musical this year! THRILLED This is so great! But I'm still not sure whether to do it or not… the show is so much fun, too! But not everyone has the chance to be a Student Director…
Jack: Ye've contemplated this over 12 hours now, can we sleep yet?
Sure, but I'll be restless because I'll still be thinking about it…
Jack: sigh
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