۞
As the storm became a darker line upon the approaching horizen, Joshamee Gibbs yearned for a good strong pull from a bottle of rum, but he knew that he could not. He had just spoken to a shocked Jack Sparrow and a relieved William Turner, offering his knowledge of childbirth, if Miss Elizabeth were to start showing signs of going into the early stages of labor. He could feel his captain's astonished, blinking dark eyes boring into his back, and smiled to envision the look that was upon Jack's face when he told them that he'd actually had training in midwifery. He had not gone into any detail, and would not have, even if his two friends had asked questions.
William knew that Gibbs was deft in medical administration when called upon; indeed, he had been there to help care for Jack, recently, when Jack was stricken with deathly illness and a head injury that had nearly taken him from all of them. It was just prior to this illness that William and Jack had been made privy to the knowledge that they were cousins, by the grace of Calypso, and she had also predicted Jack's illness. William had been granted a temporary power to learn what was in Jack's heart, and he had learned so much about Jack's dark and sad past because of it. Jack was unaware of how much William knew about him, but had suspected that something had taken place during his long unconscious state... he did not question anything. The captain felt that something, somehow, had drawn himself and the Turners even closer together as a new family, with new family ties. Joshamee Gibbs had been instrumental in helping the young couple care for the captain after he was nearly killed by the falling mast, and had even taught Elizabeth how to stitch up wounds with a sail mending needle and mending thread. Jack would have a minimal scar in his scalp, in spite of the 12 stitches. The Turners loved and cared about Joshamee Gibbs... he was one of Elizabeth's oldest aquaintances and a trusted friend.
Gibbs stared out over the bowsprit of the Pearl, and knew that he needed to be gathering clean towels and the washbasin that Jack had kept under his bunk, just in case... the captain would have to finally share his precious cakes of soap that he hoarded so jealously in order to possibly help Gibbs to bring Jack's own little baby cousin into the world. Joshamee drew a deep breath, and knew that he needed to get busy... and he tried desperately to overcome the sad memories that his own mind held...
Joshamee Gibbs was home on leave from the Navy. It was a rare thing, indeed, to be excused for such a common thing as a man's wife having a baby, but the Dauntless was due for repairs and a new fitting out, anyway, and it happened to fall during Ann's time. Joshamee and his beloved had married later than most couples, and they were eagerly anticipating the birth of their child.
Ann was, herself, a midwife, and Joshamee had accompanied her throughout Southampton and its surrounding area during many late night calls for help. Most of the women were wives of sailors just like himself, and most were away at sea for months at a time. It was unusual for a man to be taught the ways of midwifery, but there was no physician in their area, and only one other woman who was a qualified midwife, and there was more than enough work to go around. More than just once in a while, it was necessary for Joshamee to assist in bringing a screaming child into the world, as most of the women that were being attended to were not in any mood to argue having a man in the room, with blankets and water next to him, ready to care for the newborn of any sailor much like himself. He had often thought that he would have been grateful, himself, if the shoe were upon the other foot... it would not have bothered him one whit to know that a qualified man was helping his wife attend Ann if it were needed during the grueling pain of childbirth.
Sadly, there were many times that the Gibbs were also the only ones there to give the last rites to a child that did not survive the dangerous process of being born... and that happened often. Being a softhearted man, it would nearly do Gibbs in to administer to a dead child or a mother that had bled to death. There was no such thing as a sure thing when having a baby, and childbirth was a major cause of death for women. Equally sad was the fact that most of the husbands or sweethearts would not know that their love did not survive until months later... in some cases, they did not even know that their wife or lover was even with child until both were long dead and buried. It was a hard life for those who went to sea...
Ann Mahoney was a beautiful woman, red haired and blue eyed, of Irish stock. She was large boned and strong, much like Joshamee, himself, and they had married in their early thirties... she was already considered a spinster until she met Joshamee at a tavern where she served meals. He was already besotted by her auburn locks and laughing eyes by the time that he had asked her to go for an evening walk with him through the well lit streets of Southampton. It was a whirlwind romance, and within just a few short weeks just prior to his leaving on the Dauntless, they were married. He was to be part of an escort to take the new governor of Jamaica, Weatherby Swann, to Port Royal, along with his young daughter, the winsome little Elizabeth. It was during this voyage that they had pulled a young boy from a piece of drifting debris after his ship had been sunk by the legendary Black Pearl... it was then that he made the acquaintance of one William Turner the Second.
Ann and Joshamee's marriage was a strong one, and when he was on leave, he would accompany her on her rounds to visit the expectant mothers in the area... it was a rough sea town, and he did not want his wife to walk the streets alone as long as he was in port to go with her, even though she carried a small dagger and was well capable of taking care of herself, if need be. They were two years into their marriage when she found out that she, herself, was with child. They were both thrilled, as they had not expected to become parents this late in their lives.
It was during his leave that Ann, indeed, went into labor, and early on in her pains, a message was sent to beckon the other midwife to Ann's side. Much to Joshamee's chagrin, the boy came back with another message in hand, and no Mrs. Bates in sight. The message read, "Am in bed with fever. I cannot attend."
As Ann's moans and screams came closer together, Joshamee Gibbs knew that it was going to be up to him to deliver his own child.
Ann's labor went quickly. Too quickly. She was breathing hard, and there was too much blood. The baby came too fast, and Ann had torn badly. The bleeding could not be stopped, and neither could death. As Joshamee Gibbs held his stillborn baby son in his arms, the love of his life slipped away. Even as he had helped to deliver many children over the last two years, he could not save his own beloved wife and their little boy...
She was buried, along with Joshamee Joseph Gibbs, Jr., in the little churchyard just down the cobblestone street from their home. Gibbs had only visited their grave once since he lost them... and it was just upon the last stop with the Pearl. Elizabeth wished to visit Southampton subversively for supplies... Southampton was a Navy stronghold, and was not friendly to pirates... and she wished to have one last chance to reminisce about the last time that she was there as a young girl. Joshamee had told her that he needed to visit the grave of a loved one while there, and Elizabeth sat to rest upon a bench at the iron gate of the churchyard. He did not tell the lass, who was now expecting her and William's first baby, that he was there to visit his own wife and baby son... it would upset her, and it was information that she did not need to know. To her credit, the lass respected his privacy, and did not ask...
As he knelt down next to the tiny stone marker, he laid a single rose upon the grave, and recited the Rosary for them. As he crossed himself, he wiped his eyes upon his sleeve, and vowed to his darling Ann and his tiny boy that he would make them proud, if need be. He would find redemption for losing them. He would do his best, and offer his knowledge to William and Elizabeth Turner, if a midwife could not be at hand... if his own son could not be well born, he swore that he would do his damnedest to make certain that the child of Captain Jack Sparrow's cousin, William Turner, would be...
"I love ye, Annie and little Josh... I love ye..." And Joshamee Gibbs turned his back upon the grave, took the arm of the bonny lass, Elizabeth Swann Turner, and they slowly walked back the way that they had come. He expected to never return...
To be continued...