Jack was quite pleased to find that he wasn't experiencing morning sickness this time around, but he was still horribly lightheaded and moody. After he snapped at Will one day over how to tie a knot and almost passing out in the process, Will realized what was going on, and it disturbed him. Jack having one child was more than enough for Will...and Jack once had the nerve to call Will a eunuch. Ironic.

The second trimester came along and Jack stopped fainting and snapping at people...in fact, he was exceedingly perky, greeting everyone warmly every morning and chattering excitedly with Elizabeth, who had found out that she herself was expecting and was almost as far along as Jack.

"Have you considered any names, Jack?" she asked. Jack tugged at his jacket, slowly pulling it off because he felt overheated. Such was the curse of weight gain...no way to beat the heat.

"Well...I've only considered one possibility: a girl to be named Jill..." he smiled as he said this. "I think it might be a girl, though...I don't feel the need to eat much meat this time..." he added. Elizabeth nodded understandingly. She was driving the crew insane with the constant stops at ports for meat.

"I see...but, if it is a boy, what will you be naming him?" she asked, leaning against the ramparts.

"Hmm...I'm not quite so good with names, but...Grant. After my father." Jack took off his hat and fanned himself. No way to beat the heat.

"That's a lovely name...I'm surprised you didn't give that name to Johnny."

"Ah, well...the first sound that Johnny made instead of crying -because, apparently, boys are too stubborn at birth to cry- he made a little chirping noise...like a chickadee..."

"Then why not Chickadee?" Elizabeth asked.

"Because Johnny Chickadee sounded better to me." Jack said. There was a long pause. "Are you hungry?" he suddenly asked. Elizabeth nodded, and so they went down to the galley.

"So it seems that I'll be having two children to care for..." Elizabeth laughed as she sliced up apples and mixed it with hardtack, and -of course- salted meat. Jack nodded and started slicing an apple himself, grabbing for a can of salt (from which the "East India Company" logo was nearly scratched away from years of use) to put on the apple. Salty and sweet was precisely what he was needing at the moment.

They sat there silently for a few minutes, eating, when suddenly Jack found himself feeling deeply depressed.

"What the hell am I doing?" he wondered aloud. Elizabeth looked up from her food to see Jack leaning back in his chair, his hands placed absentmindedly on his slightly enlarged stomach. He looked as if he was about to cry.

"What do you mean?" Elizabeth asked after swallowing an apple slice. Jack shook his head slowly.

"I've already had to give one child up to you...we're dropping you off at Port Royal as soon as we get the chance, where you and Will and Johnny shall be living...and...now I'm bringing another child into this world, and that child will most likely end up being under your care along with Johnny. I've made your life difficult...I'm so sorry..."

There was an awkward silence until Gibbs came into the room, startling Jack and making him wince with an intense perceived pain.

"Jesus Christ, Gibbs...you could've scared me into an early birth...keep the startling entrances reserved for a few more months, if you please!" He snapped. Gibbs held up his hands in a protective way.

"I didn't mean to frighten you, honestly! I care about your child almost as much as you do..." Gibbs said, trying to calm Jack down. Jack sighed and sank into a chair, muttering something about movement and back pain. Elizabeth smiled knowingly.

"If only there was a way to speed up the process..." Jack thought aloud. "9 months is a heck of a long time, isn't it?"

Jack was beginning to change his mind when he felt his child start to move. Now he wanted to stay like this forever. He had felt extremely excited when he was expecting Johnny, but he was always in a deep state of fear and anxiety during that time, as well as some frustration at his condition, and couldn't quite enjoy it. Now, there was no fear...at least not beyond reason.

Jack and Elizabeth were getting increasingly concerned for each other as their times grew near. It was all they ever spoke about.

"What do you think of us possibly having them on the same day?" Jack said during another midnight snack attack. Elizabeth chewed on her hardtack thoughtfully.

"Quite likely...how long do we have?" she asked. Jack thought for a moment as he stroked his belly.

"A month or so left, I presume. I can't wait, really." he said. He shivered. They had gone a little further north than usual. They were somewhere around Virginia, to be precise. "I don't want to go back to Tortuga...maybe I should stay on the ship...at least the child will grow into sealegs a bit more quickly."

"But if the child isn't staying on the ship..." Elizabeth began to argue. Jack raised his hand to her mouth, cutting her sentence off.

"The children are staying with me. And...uh, Elizabeth..." Jack said. Elizabeth looked up again.

"Yes?"

"I don't think Will's the father of your child.

Elizabeth was shocked.

"What do you mean?" she asked, blinking confusedly. "If you mean to say that our one night together resulted in anything then you're wrong. The timing is off."

"Don't let anyone tell you that there's a time of the month where you can't conceive...I mean, look at me! 1 month after the first one, a second one's on the way! And I only passed out a week after our night together. I think we both got knocked up that night..." Jack said. Elizabeth laughed.

"If you mean to imply that I'm the father of your child, then..." she began.

"No. I'm the father of my child. It's complicated...but I..." Jack stopped and his mouth twitched.

"What is it?" Elizabeth asked, concerned.

"Wha? Oh...nothing, nothing...just a little spasm. Don't worry about it." Jack said, waving the problem away. Inwardly, however, he knew very well what it was. His time had come, and he was now horribly nervous.