AN: I came home today! I was on a mission trip and God made it unbelievable. I loved it. Anyways, that's not what this is about haha. I'm going to try to update more often since I don't have anywhere to be most of this week. Yay! I got the new Harry Potter book (yay!) and so I'm going to be reading it some. But I'll review as long as I get reviews. I need some, so spread the word and tell people to read Forever then this one and to review both:).
I sighed as I stood in Jack's arms. We had just finished our conversation and it was obvious that we were both confused about the whole situation. Tortuga was supposedly a day's journey away and Mana's letter was being anticipated by me. I knew she might not have responded, but the hope kept me going. Me nor Jack knew what to do from here on out, our minds clouded by the still-fresh news like a thick fog that lingered over the ocean on certain mornings, daring to get as close to the water without touching it.
I felt myself begin to cry. Blasted mood swings. Thankfully for the Pearl's occupants, Elizabeth was about two months behind me in her pregnancy so her moods were still somewhat normal. Jack's arms encased me in warmth and love as he felt the warmth of my tears through his slightly dirtied white shirt. I cried my eyes out for no reason. I assumed it was the thought that neither of us knew left or right when it came to my pregnancy. We didn't know what to do. I had already made it clear to him that I did not want a strange woman on the ship assisting me. He tried to convince me that we could get some midwife a few months early so I could become accustomed to her, but I still denied him. Jack was the one I wanted to help me. He knew enough about human health, considering his numerous accounts of being stranded and wounded thus assisting himself.
My tears had also apparently startled him, considering that he'd hesitated to pull me closer than we already were. Jack's hands were like a gentle breeze, just applying enough pressure to make a difference on my back yet very noticeable. He pressed my head to his chest as I calmed down, my breath ragged as I stopped the flow of tears that were staining his shirt. "I'm sorry Jack. I can't help it somehow…"
"I understand darling." He pulled back so I could gaze into onyx depths that were his eyes. A smirk began to crawl along his handsome face. "In all actuality, I don't understand. But I do understand that the predicament that we've gotten into has caused you to become a state that makes it nearly impossible to stop tears from flowing out of…" I shut up his word magic with a gentle yet rough kiss.
I'd nearly thrown myself at him within his arms. I could hear the familiar Jack Sparrow chuckle under the kiss. I knew that Jack was just as confused as I was. His hands rested in the small of my back as I held onto him for dear life.
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Jack closed his eyes as his wife did the same. Her warm tears had shocked him at first, causing his brain to go into overdrive. He wasn't used to sudden fountains occurring, and he was used to water. No doubt was in his mind when he thought about her being scared and confused. She was carrying part of him within him, and she would do so for nine months until a new Sparrow was aboard the Pearl.
His rough and weather-chapped lips worked on her softer and moisturized ones. Jack felt her sigh under the kiss, her breath returning to normal when they pulled apart for a moment. Alexis gazed at him with soft green eyes. A grey color had seeped into them over time, making them less emerald like. Jack still considered them to be jewels, however. To him everything about the woman before him was glorious and was made to be adored by him. He knew she was thinking about the next few moments as a devilish smirk crossed her face and she wrapped her arms around his neck as if anticipating his not-so-far off action. Tanned arms swept under her and carried her to their cabin, where he proved his love gently.
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I lay the remainder of that day in his arms as his ringed and calloused hands felt over my belly. Since I was assuming I was three going on four months along, there was a slight bump. I knew from past encounters with expecting women that along the fourth month mark, the baby would start to show as a bump. Jack had my back pulled to him as our left sides lay on the bed. His chest moved against my back as he breathed quietly, obviously not captured by the lure of sleep as I was beginning to do. There was no doubt that he loved me and that he wanted me to remain with him. I knew that from the way he talked, looked, and interacted with me. I knew that he would never leave me by free will. Till death do us part, I thought with a smile as I closed my eyes. I jumped when I realized that he was gazing at me over my shoulder in his special way. "What, pray tell, is my gem of a woman smiling at?"
I blushed as I shifted onto my right side so that I could see my husband clearly without straining my eyes. He grinned his famous grin at me as he kissed me. It was brief yet long, although I knew it wouldn't be the last one in our lifetime or for the next hour. I was then pulled onto his chest as he rolled onto his back, my head adorning the tanned surface. His heart echoed loudly in my ears, obviously from our 'escapades' that had been finished moments before. "Perhaps it's because she has the most handsome pirate captain in all the Caribbean next to her to love her. And the fact that he's not going to leave her certainly helps…"
His deep chuckle joined the sounds of his breathing and his pounding heart. "True, lovely. Very true." He silenced his amusement for a moment. "Alley," his fingers tangled in my hair and I could hear the seriousness in his voice. "I want you to be careful until the babe's born. After then, too. I love you more than life, darling, and I doubt you can ever know how much."
I felt the cursed tears spill from my eyes once more, touched by his heartfelt words. I knew that he'd thought about the wording and he hadn't wanted to cause tears. Hopefully he would learn that they were about as controllable as he was. And we all knew how controllable he was. His chest caught my tears as he buried his head into my soft and straight hair. I felt his face muscles move as he blinked against the dirty blonde surface, his nose causing warm air to caress my scalp. I snuggled against him, enjoying the moment as my tears left. Those mood swings were going to cause trouble before long, no doubts attached. Lizzie's moods were going to add to Jack's patience, and I prayed that neither of us would have bizarre cravings like most women were plagued with. Obviously the belly sickness had cursed me for the time being and Elizabeth had yet to vomit her stomach's contents into the beloved ocean.
As I lay there, I smiled and sighed, my breath gracing his bare chest that rose with each breath he took. Jack's muscular arms held me tightly to him as I closed my eyes, sleep overcoming me quickly. "I love you more than you can ever know too, Jack Sparrow."
"Captain, darling. Never forget that."
His laugh eased me to sleep. "Of course…" Before long, I was out like a doused lamp on a raid that had to occur quickly. "Never."