I'm getting worse at this . . . I'm so sorry for not updating in forever! I feel so bad about it, I really do!
Cornishxxxpixie- Thanks so much for the review! No need to apologize for exclamation marks; I use them a lot, too! (See? Lol.) Okay, so I finally updated. Yippee! Ha. And thanks for replying, you're so amazing!
Queen.Bowie.Jack.Sparrow.Lover- I didn't exactly update soon, did I? Well, here it is! Sorry about taking so long! Hope you enjoy, and thanks for the review!
Toxic-Beetle- I'm so glad you like my story, and I'm gonna try really hard to start updating regularly again. I've been so spacey lately, it's amazing, really . . . Lol. Hope to hear more from you! Thank you for the review!
Okay, so here's chapter six . . .
Chapter six: Game Plan
Jack crossed his arms over his chest and looked at Gibbs, who sighed heavily. 'I don't like where this is 'eaded,' Jack muttered, and leaned forward. 'I've seen what that bastard did t' Alex . . .'
'Should I tell the crew to be ready to set sail in the mornin'?' Gibbs asked, and Jack met the man's gaze with a sigh.
'Aye, mate. Hurston knows we're here – all we're doin' by hangin' around is puttin' Alex 'n Carolyn in more trouble.'
Carolyn stormed into the room Alex shared with Jack and slammed the door behind her. Alex, who had been dozing, jumped awake, eyes wide.
'What's wrong?' Alex breathed, placing a hand on her chest as she tried to steady her nerves.
'That bastard of yours has ordered for us to set sail in the morning!' Carolyn hissed.
'I'm sure he has a reason to call the order, Carolyn, calm down!' Alex snapped, now thoroughly irritated that her nap had been disturbed. She swung her legs out of bed and tucked her shirt into her breeches, deciding silently to find Jack once Carolyn left her alone.
'CALM DOWN!' Carolyn bellowed. 'He's abandoning the mission! He doesn't give about you or me; he's just worried about his stupid boat!'
Carolyn gasped and held her cheek – Alex had lost her temper and backhanded her friend, her eyes narrowed.
'Don't you dare second-guess Jack,' Alex whispered dangerously. 'He is your captain, and if he has decided that we cannot capture Hurston right now, then you follow orders.'
'Thank yeh, Alex, but yeh don't need t' defend me,' Jack stated from the doorframe. Carolyn glared at him, but Alex's emotions from seeing her lover were masked by the anger Carolyn had stirred to the surface. 'Carolyn, if yeh must know, we're turnin' back 'coz Hurston has caught wind of us.'
'So! We outnumber him!'
'Would you shut up already?' Alex hissed, and Carolyn turned. 'You're on Jack's ship, so you'll follow Jack's orders! He knows more about this than either of us does, but if you feel so sure of yourself, you can stay here! You're my friend, Carolyn, but you need to be patient! No one is going to get themselves killed for him!'
Carolyn opened her mouth as if she was going to say something, but must have decided against it, for in a second she stormed from the room, pushing harshly past Jack. Alex sighed heavily and sat down the bed, while Jack closed the door.
'Yeh alright, love?' Jack asked, and Alex nodded, meeting his gaze.
'Right now, I'm okay,' she said, and he walked over to her, ruffling her hair with a grin.
'She's a lot like yeh,' Jack said, and Alex furrowed her brows. 'She's fiery, like yeh, but she's goin' about it the wrong way. Her anger's blindin' her.'
'She's young, and Hurston took advantage of her,' Alex muttered as Jack sat down by her. 'She's scared.'
''N yeh're not?' Jack questioned.
She didn't answer. Instead, she kissed his lips gently and left, heading for Carolyn's room. She stopped at the door, leaning on the doorframe, watching Carolyn's form on the hammock.
'I'm sorry for slapping you … and yelling at you. I do honor your opinion, Carolyn, but I'm afraid that if we don't do as Jack asks, one of us is going to end up dead, and I can't have that. He has more experience than either of us, so I'm trusting him to lead us right.'
'Why do you get a bed and I get a hammock?' Carolyn muttered.
Alex shrugged and walked into the room. 'What's going on with you?'
Carolyn sighed heavily. 'I'm scared, Alex.'
'Why?'
'Because I'm pregnant, Alex . . . with Hurston's baby.'
'Carolyn's pregnant,' Alex breathed, and Jack froze, looking at her with unbelieving eyes. Alex nodded, and Jack let out a breath, and then looked at her stomach.
'Yeh're not, are yeh?'
'No, Jack,' she soothed, and he sighed in relief, 'but what are we going to do about Carolyn?'
'There's nothin' we can do, Alex, there's no way t' get the baby outta 'er, 'less she miscarriages, 'n that's a natural thing.'
She nodded, knowing he was right, but not wanting to accept it. 'I feel so sorry for her. I'd hate to be pregnant.'
'Really?' he asked innocently. She grinned, looking out the small, grimy window to the ocean beyond.
'Well . . . I'd hate to be pregnant with Hurston's baby. I wouldn't mind being pregnant with yours.' He grinned broadly, almost boyishly, and wrapped his arms around her waist, and she quickly added, 'But that doesn't mean I want to start a family.'
''Course not,' he soothed, 'but if it 'appened, I'd take care o' yeh, y'know.'
She kissed his lips gently and smiled, resting her head on his shoulder. 'You're a Godsend, Jack Sparrow.'
'Not a Godsend, darlin',' he corrected her. 'I'm a pirate; I could ne'er be a Godsend.'
'You'd be surprised.'
He ignored her retort and continued, ''N it's Cap'n, love – Cap'n Jack Sparrow.'
'You're not my captain, Jack,' she told him blandly. 'You're that and so much more.'
Usually, such affectionate words would have sickened the infamous Jack Sparrow – or so he would like people to think. But, as he had told her before, she had humbled him, and he smiled his crooked, roguish smile and kissed her cheek. 'Thank yeh, lovely, but I gotta get back to me work. We're 'eaded fer Port Royal.'
'I'll get to see Liz and Will?'
'Yup. 'N Carolyn can be seen after by a doctor.'
He had thought Alex was through speaking, and he turned to leave, but she grasped his shoulder and met his gaze, her expression serious. 'I have already asked you for so many favors, Jack, and I feel as if I'm taking advantage of you, but I have one more thing to ask. I want to go into Tortuga tonight, before we leave, and I want to finish this.' His curiosity got the better of him, and he pressed her for more information.
'What d'yeh 'ave in mind, little lady?'
'Hurston knows we're here, so I'll make myself very obvious. When he comes to me, I'll kill him.'
'How d'yeh knew he'll come t' yeh when 'e knows I'm 'ere as well?' he wanted to know, and she pondered for a moment.
'Get the Pearl out of this dock. Easy enough.'
'This is takin' a lot o' risks. What if we can't get outta Tortuga, 'n we can't kill 'im? What if 'e kills yeh 'fore I get there?' he asked, shoving a hand into his pocket, closing his fist around a small object in his pocket, something he had been thinking long and hard over and finally decided it was right. And now it could all be ruined. Her eyes narrowed, and she crossed her arms over her chest.
'Who said you'd be coming? I told you, I've asked too much of you already.'
'I'm not gonna let yeh go 'n do this alone, love,' he told her, sliding an arm around her waist. She pushed him away.
'I need to do this alone. I love you, Jack, but you need to step back on this.' She furrowed her brows, and slid her palms onto either side of his face, kissing him passionately. He replaced his hand on her waist with a soft noise, almost like a whimper, and kissed her just as fiercely. When the kiss ended, she sighed softly and played with the bone in his hair. 'I want you close by, though,' she admitted. 'I'm afraid to do this alone.'
'You're ne'er alone, darlin'.'
'What are you fiddling with?' she asked, seeing the movement in his pocket. He shrugged and removed his hand from his pocket.
'Loose string.'
She rolled her eyes. 'Do you ever completely pay attention to me, Jack?' she questioned with a sigh, looking frustrated, and his eyes widened slightly.
'I pay 'tention t' yeh all the time, lovely,' he told her, and she met his gaze skeptically. 'I do, Alex.'
'Alright,' she sighed, and then took his free hand. He removed his hand from his pocket and took her other hand with it, knowing she enjoyed his simple act of affection. 'You know more about the whole piracy thing than I do, so I need your help on planning this, okay?'
'Yeah,' he replied. 'I'll get with Gibbs - he'll be able t' take the Pearl t' the next cove. Yeh think an hour'll be 'nough?'
'Should be,' Alex agreed, and kissed his cheek. 'I'm sorry I wanted him dead in the first place. This trip was too risky for -'
'Alex, what he did t' yeh . . . If yeh hadn't come out 'ere t' kill 'im, I would've,' he whispered. 'I love yeh.'
'I know you do,' she murmured, 'and I love you, too.'
Okay, so truthfully, this chapter's been ready for awhile … I wrote it on my laptop, and unfortunately I don't have internet access on it, so it took me awhile to get it onto my computer … but it's here now, and I will try so hard to upload regularly from now on! So sorry for the wait!
Alyssa
