New Beginnings: Chapter 11

Dani had taken to sleeping on the deck. They had only been sailing for three nights though. She refused to take the captain's quarters from Will and Elizabeth and she forced Jack out with her. Elizabeth was sick and she needed the enclosed room, away from the elements. Dani was going to sleep with the crew, but Jack told her no to that. So the deck was their bedroom. And it was just fine.

The sky was pitch black except for the millions of starts that flecked it. She tried to count them to help her sleep, but it remained elusive. Nothing helped. Jack was snoring; he usually had no problem sleeping. When he wasn't snoring, Dani watched his lips twitch and form silent words in his sleep. Maybe she'd learn something new about him.

She had almost drifted off to sleep when someone joined her on deck.

"Dani…" Elizabeth whispered. How could she know that Dani was still awake?

"Elizabeth?" She asked. She was angry, tired, and confused.

"I need to talk to you." Dani stood and walked with Elizabeth away from Jack.

"What is it, Elizabeth?" She yawned.

"I know you and I haven't gotten along very well…or at all. And we have almost nothing in common, but I need a favor."

"I'm willing to overlook the things in the past," Dani said, trying to overcome yet another yawn.

"I think I might be pregnant."

"What?" Dani questioned. She was amazed. "How?"

"Surely you must now how."

"Well, of course, but…" she stopped. "I'm using my official position as temporary captain to take you off of active crew duty."

"What? When did you become temporary captain?"

"Just now. No more labor for you. Until the child is ready to be born, savvy?" Dani smiled.

Elizabeth nodded and smiled back at the woman who seemed to be closer to her age than she thought.

"How can I tell if I really am?"

"How long ago was your last…?"

Elizabeth looked thoughtful for a moment, and then looked up. "It was supposed to be about ten days ago."

"We can't be absolutely certain until it starts to grow, but…I'd say you are."

And for the first time ever, Dani hugged Elizabeth. But the joy the both of them were feeling dissipated quickly when they spotted a ship on fire in the distance. The same red flag flying atop the mast as their own.

Dani didn't hesitate. She ran to the crew's sleeping quarters and demanded, in a loud voice, that they were all on deck in one minute. The crew grumbled their grievances, but did what they were told.

Jack fell out of his chair and yelled as he hit the deck, "who stole my rum?" He stood and rubbed his eyes, spreading the kohl liner around. "What's going on?" he asked as Dani walked over to him.

All she did was point. The crew all gathered together and looked in the direction she pointed. Their ship was on fire.

"All right! We're moving people!" Jack shouted.

Will stumbled on deck and looked around him. He pulled on his other boot and struggled to button his shirt as he walked to Elizabeth.

"What's going on?"

"We found the Rum."

They sailed closer and picked up Bootstrap who jumped ship when they lit it on fire about an hour ago. He informed them that they had elected to take Thommas with them.

They rowed over in a long boat to see the wreckage up close.

Dani walked the deck, not sure if it was safe to be there. She walked between the small, smoldering fires and entered the captain's cabin. Hazel was curled up on the pillow on the bed. She went to pet her and screamed. It was just Hazel's fur coat.

Jack and Will ran into the room and found her crying on the floor.

Dani didn't cry. Everyone knows that. The men panicked. Will quickly removed what was left of the animal from the room and took it outside.

"Why is everything I love taken away from me?"

"I'll get you a new pet, love."

"It's not that. I…" she stopped. She was determined to not cry over the past. It wasn't worth crying over.

"Come here, love."

She stood and allowed herself to be enveloped in Jack's arms. "You're the only thing that…and I…you…"

"I know."

"I…"

"I love you, Dani. I am never leaving you again. I promise."

"I love you, too, Jack."

He kissed her tear-stained cheek and helped her out of the cabin.

He addressed the crew that was left. "Take whatever you can salvage in the long boat. We'll gather what we can and follow in the last boat left on the Rum." He turned to Dani, "go gather your fabric. Unless you'd rather I go back in there."

"No, I can do it," she told him. Her lip was once again becoming stiff and she was trying to not let herself be affected by the situation. She would be fine. She turned on her heel and charged into the cabin, determined to do this as quickly as possible.

An hour later they were all back on the Royale watching the Rum going down in flames. They started a couple more fires in order to sink it. It was just a waste of space in its current state.

Jack had stopped watching the ship sink and instead watched the fire reflecting in Dani's eyes. He was having a hard time believing it was just a reflection. He could see that her eyes were wet, making the image of fire that much clearer. He knew it was time to make his next move.

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A/N: I must say, this chapter was hard to write. The part about Dani finding Hazel was difficult because 1) my own cat, Thom, was lying on my arm while I was typing and 2) I couldn't imagine this happening to him or our other cat, Jerry. Or any other animal for that matter. (I DO NOT in ANY WAY endorse cruelty towards animals.)

Please read and review as always. Maybe another chapter tomorrow.

thomthom (not the cat)