Disclaimer: Disney owns POTC, I own my OCs.

Warning: Contains mention of torture and gore, some misogynistic terms.

A Sparrow's Shadow on the Sea

Cheating Death

I watched as the handles of the cabin doors jiggled, gently at first, then with much greater force. My heart was pounding so loudly, I felt certain it could be heard clearly by everyone onboard the Pearl, in spite of the sounds of the fight taking place on deck.

The cabin doors burst open explosively, sending small slivers of wood scattering over the floor. I flinched, but held my ground, trying my best to stay calm and focused, as Jack had instructed.

Two pirates entered the cabin, looking directly at me. They were dirty, grimy men who smelled terribly of body odor. Their teeth appeared blackened with rot as they sneered at me.

"Well, lookie here, Hawkins! Captain Sparrow's whore's as swollen as a sow!" exclaimed the thinner man, as he leered.

"I ain't never had me a pregnant whore before, Coop," commented the other man. He was about the same height as the first, but much more muscular and stockier. Of the two men, he was clearly the greater threat physically, due to his more formidable build.

I raised the pistol, quickly aiming and firing, shooting the man called Hawkins in the chest. He fell back, thudding to the floor of the cabin, a pool of blood flowing generously from the gaping hole in his chest.

The man called Coop advanced on me with lightning speed. I didn't even have time to pull my sword before I felt the full force of his fist hit me in the face.

"Bloody, wretched bitch! Ye'll pay for that!" he snarled at me, as he picked me up roughly and shoved me onto the bed.

My head hurt and my mind was reeling from the force of his blow. "Stay alert and stay focused." I heard Jack's voice echo in my throbbing head. Jack! Oh god, where is Jack, I thought desperately.

"Stay focused," he had said. I tried to get a grip on myself, to remain calm and rational.

I opened my eyes to see Coop as he was climbing onto the bed, a large knife in his hand. He straddled my thighs, leaning over me. He smelled like body odor mingled with raw sewage. I desperately fought the overwhelming urge to gag. I looked quickly at his filthy face. He looked as if he'd been mauled by a vicious cat at some point. Raised scars from scratch marks lined his cheeks. I wondered if they were a parting gesture made by another of this rapist's hapless victims, prior to being killed.

Leaning over me, his face close to mine, I could smell his foul breath as he smiled an evil, lecherous grin. The scent of alcohol, decay, and vomit wafted from his mouth as he spoke.

"Do ye know what I'm gonna do to ye, bitch?" he sneered venomously, as he pressed the cold metal of his dagger against my neck, "I'm gonna show ye what it feels like ta be had by a real man, not some flouncy, little sparrow! Aye, pretty, I'm gonna have me way with ye, then I'm gonna carve that babe out of yer belly and throw it overboard for the sharks!" He paused to snicker at his clever threats. "Then, while ye're bleedin' ta death, I'm gonna have me way with ye again, 'til ye beg me ta kill ye!"

The absolute rage I felt suddenly overshadowed my fear. "Go to hell, you filthy scum!" I screamed. I spit in his face.

If I could just bend my leg up without him noticing, I would be able to reach my dagger, I thought quickly.

I looked at him. He was laughing a vile, horrible laugh. Before I knew what happened, he backhanded me across the face. As I lay under him, stunned, I heard the sound of my shirt ripping. I felt his calloused, grimy hands groping my breasts, grabbing them roughly.

I struggled against him, only to be hit yet again. I felt dazed.

And off in the distance, I heard a woman's voice screaming. Strange. What the hell? Who was that?? The woman's voice sounded terrified. She was screaming Jack's name. I had no idea it was my own voice I was hearing.

"Ye can scream all ye want, bitch! He's not comin' for ye. Cap'n's probably sliced him from stem to stern, watchin' his guts fall out onto the deck, by now! Ye're all mine, me pretty!" he snarled.

His words filled me with horror and despair. Don't listen to him! I felt my eyes well with tears. I furiously tried to blink them away. I opened my eyes slightly to see the man fumbling to unfasten his breeches. The sight of his arousal bulging against the fabric sickened me. I felt like gagging again. And I began to feel lost. Doomed. I would die this day and so would my child. Jack's child. A random memory of painting Jack's tattoo on the cradle flashed through my mind. At least we'd been happy. At least he'd finally felt the baby kick.

Out of the corner of my eye, a sudden movement caught my attention. My vision was blurred from tears, but I could make out a man standing in the doorway, his clothes covered with blood. I blinked. It was Jack! I saw him put his finger to his lips as he noiselessly crept up behind Coop, who was still trying to unfasten the tangled laces of his breeches.

The next thing I knew, Jack had run him through, the bloody blade of his sword abruptly stopping only inches from my face. And then Coop was gone. Jack had yanked him off me, throwing him to the floor. I sat up and quickly scrambled over to the edge of the bed.

"Is he dead" I asked, staring at Coop.

"He's getting there," Jack said coldly.

I reached into my boot, grabbing my dagger. Tumbling to the floor next to Coop's dying body, I raised my dagger and plunged it into his chest with as much strength as I had. Then I collapsed onto the floor.

And for a moment, there was peace. No swords clanging, no shots fired, just silence.

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"Holy Mother Mary!" Gibbs' voice shouted.

I snapped my head up, bewilderedly gazing around the cabin, completely oblivious to my torn clothes and exposed breasts.

"Sweet Jesus, Jack! Has the lass been hurt?" Gibbs exclaimed.

Jack knelt in front of me. I felt him wrap the sides of my shirt around me, covering me. He gently tipped my head up to look at him. I saw him wince.

"He hit me, Jack," I said feebly, confirming what he saw.

"Did he do…anything else to you," he asked.

"No," I replied softly, "but he was going to. He was going to make me suffer, Jack. And it gave him…pleasure…"

Jack enveloped me in his arms. His clothes were wet and sticky and the strongly metallic smell of fresh blood turned my stomach.

"Are you hurt, Jack?" I asked him, urgently.

"I'm fine, luv," he answered, "None of this blood's mine. Can you stand and walk? Let's get you out of here."

Jack helped me up, his arm around me, as he began to guide me from the cabin.

"Wait!" I said abruptly. "I know you usually give some sort of last rites to the dead…" I began, as I looked at Jack and then Gibbs. "He gets none!" I declared vengefully, pointing at Coop's bloody body.

"Understood, lass," Gibbs replied, "Don't think we'll be givin' last rites to any of 'em."

"Gibbs, get someone to clean up this filth from the cabin," Jack said over his shoulder, as he ushered me out on deck.

The carnage of the fight that took place was immediately apparent, as I glanced around. The entire deck was awash with blood, littered with dead bodies, and severed parts of bodies. It was truly the scene of a massacre.

"Don't look, luv," Jack said, guiding me down into one of the cargo holds. He unlocked the door and we entered the cool, dimly lit room. Jack eased me to the floor to sit, and went to get a bottle of rum.

"So, are we going to have to fear vengeance from any other relatives of those men you killed at the Bride?" I asked flatly.

"No, Eve," he answered wearily, as he sat next to me. He opened the rum and drank.

I grabbed the rum bottle out of his hands. "Sorry, baby, mommy needs this," I murmured before putting the bottle to my lips and guzzling as much as I could.

"Is the crew alright? How many wounded are there?" I asked, handing the bottle to Jack.

He sighed heavily. "We lost a few, but not too many of the survivors are wounded," he replied.

"I have to go tend to them," I said, starting to push myself up to stand.

Jack pulled me back down. "You will not!" he ordered, "You will stay right here!"

"It's my job, as part of your crew, Captain," I told him, angered at being ordered around.

"Your job..!" he began yelling, then stopped to control himself. Finally, he said calmly, "You will stay here, with me, until the cabin and the decks have been cleared."

I glared at him. "Do not treat me as if I'm some fragile little thing, Jack," I said, seething, "because I'm not!" I stood awkwardly and began to pace slowly.

"You are carrying my child, Eve, and I'll be damned to hell if I'm going to let you upset and exhaust yourself to the point of losing it," he yelled, as he stood also.

"Maybe you should've thought of that before you angered a boatload of murderous psychopaths!" I screamed back at him, "How many other people are sailing around in this world, just counting the days until they can cut you and me and the rest of the crew into tiny, little pieces, Jack?" I glared at him accusingly. "It's not quite the ideal place to raise a child, is it?" I said spitefully.

"Well, how was I to know you were gonna go get yourself pregnant?" he retorted, taking a big swig of rum.

"Just so you know, I can't get myself pregnant, Jack!" I told him snidely, "What the hell did you think was going to happen? Did you think you were shooting blanks? Did you think you were a bloody eunuch?" My head was suddenly pounding horribly and I sank to the floor.

There was a timid knock on the door.

In unison, Jack and I both yelled, "What?!"

"Beggin' yer pardon, but I need a word with ye, Cap'n," Gibbs' voice said through the door.

Jack groaned as he walked to the door to speak with Gibbs out in the hallway.

I pulled my shirt around myself, leaned my head against a large barrel next to me, and wrapped my arms around my belly. I turned my head away from the door.

After speaking with Gibbs, Jack returned to stand next to me. I could feel him looking at me.

"Leave me alone," I told him sullenly.

He knelt beside me. "I don't blame you for hating me," he said sadly, "You saw the deck, luv. We've never had to fight so intensely. I thought you were safe in the cabin. I had no idea those men had broken in, until I heard you screaming…"

I turned to look at him. The sadness in his dark eyes made my heart break. He thought it was his fault, and he thought I believed that too. He thought he'd let me, and our child, down. Jack reached up to touch my cheek, barely brushing his fingers against it. I wondered how bruised and battered I looked.

"If I'd known…" he stopped, sighed, then stared at the floor. "If I had known, I'd have been there…you know that, don't you?"

"Yes," I said, "and I'm sorry. I wasn't angry at you, and I don't hate you. I was angry at that man…at all of them. I was stuck in the cabin, unable to do anything. That man said you were dead. He said his captain had gutted you, and was on deck watching you suffer and die…" At that point, I broke down sobbing.

Jack held me tight as I cried, and told him all the horrible things that Coop had said he would do to me and the baby. After I'd cried myself out and calmed down, I looked at Jack.

"And now, you see why I killed those men at the Bride," he said. He was exhausted, bloodied, and slowly getting drunk.

I nodded as I thought back to that night, and all the fuss I'd made. And I felt foolish for it. I remembered Jack's warning about "men who would do unspeakable things." And I realized I must always trust his judgment.

"How many of them did you kill?" I asked with morbid curiosity.

"Every one who crossed blades with me," he slurred, "including their captain."

"They're all dead then?" I questioned, needing to know for sure.

"Aye, luv," he answered, taking a gulp of rum.

"Good," I concluded, leaning on his shoulder.

He softly stroked my hair, as he finished off the bottle of rum.

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A/N: See? Jack's safe and sound! No reason to worry. Or, is there? This could be the beginning of another loathsome plot twist! Yes, it seems as if Jack has, yet again, saved the day. But, has he really? What sort of lasting nightmares and fears will plague Jack and Eve after this? Hmmm…makes one wonder. Tons o'thanks to all who read and reviewed! I love you guys! Hope you enjoyed the chapter!