Disclaimer: I have no rights to POTC, nor do I benefit financially from the posting of this. I just have my OCs, and a little, minor obsession.

A Sparrow's Shadow on the Sea

Terror on the High Seas

Jack stood there, speechless, staring at me with huge eyes.

"So, I guess when we next make port," I started saying, as I felt my eyes begin to flood with tears yet again, "You'll be wanting to be rid of me!" I sobbed, and ran for the cabin. I collapsed on the bed, crying.

There, it's done, it's over. Jack will leave me somewhere and I'll never see him again. I clutched the pillow. It smelled like him and I buried my face in it and sobbed.

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Jack was still standing on deck, reeling from the shock of what he'd been told. He felt himself sway and gripped the rail.

Gibbs approached Jack. "Cap'n, ye alright? Ye don't look so good," he remarked.

Jack rubbed his hand over his face and gazed at the sea. There was no moon, and the water churned blackly against his dark ship.

"Jack!" Gibbs said loudly, in an attempt to get his attention, "Did ye find out what was troublin' yer lass?"

"Yeah…" Jack responded in a daze. He turned slowly to look at Gibbs, "She's…I'm…" His voice trailed off and he stood, blinking at Gibbs. "I need rum."

Gibbs pulled his flask from his vest pocket, handing it to his captain, who immediately drained it. Gibbs watched as Jack slowly emerged from his daze.

"I'm a pirate," Jack said as he looked at Gibbs, "This…is a pirate ship…Oh God, she's going to leave me."

Gibbs saw the panic return to Jack's face. "Cap'n, ye're not makin' any sense! What're ye talkin' 'bout?" he asked.

"I have to…" Jack began. His mind was still reeling, but he was also thinking. He needed a plan and quickly. "No…You," he said, jabbing his finger at the man's chest, "Gibbs, you have to stop her!"

"What?" Gibbs asked, still attempting to decipher what Jack was telling him.

"Yes, Gibbs, just go talk to her. She probably blames me, but you…she'll talk to you," Jack said, all in a rush.

"Talk to me about what, Jack?!" Gibbs asked exasperatedly, as Jack propelled him hurriedly toward the cabin.

"Don't let her leave me, Gibbs, she can't leave me," Jack kept insisting.

Gibbs was starting to think they'd both gone mad. He dug his heels in and stopped. "What the devil's goin' on, Jack?!"

"I need rum!" Jack repeated.

Gibbs held Jack firmly by the shoulders, "No, Jack. What is it?"

"She's…I'm…We're…" Jack stammered, "Eve…I…Ba…"

"Jack, is she with child?" Gibbs finally asked, as he gripped his captain by the shoulders, resisting the urge to shake him.

Jack swallowed hard and nodded frantically. "Rum."

"Jack, ye just sit yerself down and calm yerself," Gibbs told him as he pushed Jack over to the steps leading to the helm. "I'll get ye yer rum."

Jack watched him hurry away, then stared blankly ahead. His mind was overwhelmed, full of a million thoughts, not one of which he was able to focus on.

He looked up to see Gibbs returning with a freshly opened bottle.

"There ye are, Jack. Now, ye be a good little Cap'n and just stay there an' drink yer rum," Gibbs said, "I'll go have a word with Miss Eve."

Jack guzzled the rum, then resumed his blank stare, swaying slightly. "I'm gonna be a fa…"

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I heard the knock on the cabin doors and quickly wiped the tears from my face. I trudged to the doors and opened them to see Gibbs. And my heart sank. Jack wouldn't even come talk to me. The pain I felt with that realization was unbearable. Oh God, he hates me! I'm sick and I'm scared and now he hates me. I felt a horrible, black void inside me, suffocating all happiness and all hope.

"Might I have a word with ye, lass?" Gibbs asked as he entered and closed the doors.

"So, he sent you to do his dirty work, huh?" I said despondently. "Well, you can tell Jack he needn't worry about me. I'll be out of his life just as soon as we make port somewhere." I plopped back onto the bed.

"T'ain't like that at all, lass. Jack's just a little…taken aback, is all," Gibbs said.

I looked at him in disbelief. "He's not going to want me here, Gibbs. I'll just weigh him down…like a big, fat anchor."

"That's not true, Eve," Gibbs replied.

"Oh, isn't it? Jack's fine when everything's all fun and games, but this…well, this just won't do!" I replied bitterly. I took a sip of rum.

"Ye shouldn't be drinkin' that, lass," Gibbs mentioned.

"What difference does it make?" I said defeatedly.

Gibbs sat next to me. "Miss Eve, Jack's terrified ye're plannin' to leave him," he confided.

I didn't look at him as I spoke, "Why on earth would he be terrified of that? I would think that'd be precisely what he'd want."

"No, lass," Gibbs countered, "He doesn't want that at all."

I still refused to look at him.

"Ye have to remember, Eve, ye're but the second woman Jack's ever loved. And ye know things didn't go so well with Miss Elizabeth, what with Jack endin' up dead an' all," he explained, "This revelation was a bit of a shock for him. It's all new, and I reckon, a bit frightenin'…but don't ye tell him I said that."

I finally turned to look at him. "Well, what the hell are we going to do?" I asked.

"That's somethin' ye're gonna have to talk with Jack 'bout, Eve," Gibbs said, "He's just scared, same as ye are, lass."

I smiled half-heartedly at the man, "Thanks for taking care of us, Gibbs…No easy task, I'd imagine."

"Aye, ain't that the truth, Eve!" Gibbs said.

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"I'm gonna be a fa…" Jack mumbled out loud, as he stared at nothing.

I don't even have the slightest inkling of what that means, he thought to himself. His mind wandered back to think of the intermittent visits his own father had spent with him.

Well, that's certainly not the type of father that I plan to be, he thought. No, I'm gonna be with the child always. I don't plan to miss out on anything, being the greedy pirate that I am. But Eve's a smart girl, she knows the Pearl is not the best place to raise a child. And if she leaves, I'll have to choose…

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I walked out of the cabin, peering into the darkness, trying to see where Jack was.

Finally, I saw him, sitting with a half empty bottle of rum in his hand, staring off into space. I walked up to stand in front of him. "Jack," I said softly.

He looked up, trying to focus on me, in his eyes swirled a dark brew of wariness and sadness. He looked as if he would flinch if I spoke.

"If you don't want me to go, I won't," I told him, in a voice far tinier than I had intended.

"I don't want you to go, Eve," he slurred.

I looked at him uncertainly. His sad, dark eyes suddenly brightened.

"Wait! I'll prove it," he said, raising the rum bottle and pointing upwards with his finger. He grasped his compass and tried to open it, but had difficulty because of the rum bottle he was holding.

"Hold this, luv," he said, as he handed it to me. He opened the compass and we both watched it carefully as it spun round and round.

Suddenly fearing a false reading, I put the rum down next to Jack and stepped back. I stood balancing on my toes to try to get a better look.

"Ah, you see, luv, everything's fine," Jack said, tilting the compass so I could see the arrow pointing at me. He snapped it shut and replaced it on his belt, then reached out to me, "Help me up, darlin'."

I took his hand and pulled. Jack stood, somewhat unsteadily, picked up the rum, draped his arm over my shoulders and guided me toward the bow. Once there, we sat in our usual spot. I coiled myself around Jack as he wrapped his arm around me. Neither one of us spoke. We simply sat, huddled together on the deck, our closeness being comfort enough.

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A/N: Hope you enjoyed Jack's initial reaction! And Gibbs got to have a "Dr. Phil moment." Haha! Reviews are always greatly appreciated and enjoyed! Next update, Jack and Eve confront each other. Hope you enjoy!