۞

There was a light tap upon the door of the cabin that was the Turners', and Elizabeth looked up from her ledger upon the table and said, "Come in..." She knew that there was a serious discussion at hand when William, Jack and Joshamee Gibbs entered, each with a different expression upon their face. William's face was serene... he had seen the worst that this world had to offer as the captain of the Flying Dutchman and the ferrier of the souls lost at sea. His heart had been cut from his chest, he had thought that his love was gone from his arms for ten years... and at one point before that, perhaps forever. William's face was composed and confident. His eyes, beneath his blue bandana, were calm.

Gibbs' face was serious, but determined. It was clear that he had something to say, and it was also clear that he was ready for action of some kind, and Elizabeth suspected that she knew, somehow. They had become very close friends since working together in the capacity of quartermasters, and she knew that something was afoot when he took a chair next to hers and reached out to put his beefy hand over hers in a comforting manner.

Captain Jack Sparrow stayed near the door. His face was an unreadable mask, but his deep, dark eyes were devoid of their usual dancing sparkle. His head was tilted to one side, his hat perched in it's usual crooked fashion upon his head, and as he leaned his scrawny frame almost too casually in the doorway of the cabin, his eyes kept looking out the open doorway out to the sky beyond them. He would let William and Gibbs do the explaining of the plan, if, indeed, it was necessary to implement it. He would supply additional commentary. It was his strong area, he decided.

In the meantime, the captain was fighting off a soft voice that was dancing about in his addled head... he closed his eyes and muttered, "...control... control..." as William stole a quick, worried glance his way. "...Jack... are you alright?"

Jack already had some guilt welling up inside..."Jackie, if only ye had gotten an earlier start t' Tortuga... if only ye'd charted another course... if only ye'd protected yer new family o' cousins, yer loved ones... in th' way tha' ye had hoped tha' you were capable of...maybe we wouldn't all be in this mess..." the voice taunted.

His face was calm, but his fingers twitched nervously as he shoved his hands into his striped sash in order to quiet them. He couldn't talk his way out of anything, here... he couldn't run away. He wouldn't if he could. He was past the point of no return with this young couple... They were his, as he was theirs. His mind was boiling with "if onlys", but his demeanor was calm. Control... control...no more hallucinations... control... he sighed deeply, and glanced at William with a nod. "Have no fear, William..." he smiled a bit. "I'm Captain Jack Sparrow... remember?" Jack sounded less than convincing.

William sat down across from his wife, and took both of her hands into his. As he leaned forward, his dark shirt front opened slightly, exposing the huge, jagged scar across his chest. She could barely see the edge of the tattoo that her handsome, strong husband bore upon the left side... a tattoo that Jack also bore. They had gotten them together, before they left the coast of Africa some months back... matching tattoos that were now their own family crest, a reminder to both of them of their shared experiences and their family ties. William also wore a beautiful handcrafted trading bead upon a leather string about his neck, as Elizabeth did... she had gotten a bead for each of them, as a gift and also a reminder of the feelings that they all had for each other. Jack's dangled at the end of a braid of hair. And William also wore a small tooth strung on to a string of beads from Singapore. A chip of a Kraken tooth. A gift from Jack to his young cousin, to match a Kraken tooth that dangled from the captain's own red bandana... a reminder of what they had all been through... and had lived through.

William's brown eyes looked into Elizabeth's hazel ones, searchingly, for a moment. He spoke. "It looks as though we are not going to be able to avoid a storm..." Jack's eyes glanced over at them, momentarily... if only... if only...if only he had charted another course... if only...

"I know." Elizabeth replied, "... and I have full confidence that the Black Pearl will take care of all of us, as she always has." Elizabeth squeezed her husband's hands, reassuringly, "... I have no fear that we will be just fine, with you and Jack at the helm." She smiled over at Mr. Gibbs, who pursed his lips and decided to speak.

"... Miss Elizabeth, are ye still havin' cramps?" She was taken aback by his question, and stared at him for the briefest of moments. "... yes..."

"... and how intense are they?" Gibbs asked, levelly, his eyes now searching her face and seemingly assessing her. She frowned a little and asked, "Why are you asking these questions of me, Mr. Gibbs?"

Gibbs shifted in his chair a bit, as Jack's eyes went from the sky above, over to his friends, and back. Gibbs cleared his throat and finally said, "I have trainin' in midwifery. In case we don't make it t' Tortuga in time..."

Elizabeth stared at him for the longest moment, then she looked at a smiling William, who was now stroking the backs of her hands with his thumbs. She finally looked back at Gibbs, and laughingly exclaimed, "Joshamee! The very idea! I'm so relieved! Why did you not say so from the start? I don't care if we do make it to Tortuga in time! We can port there for safety if the baby waits, but I want you to deliver our child!" She beamed at him... she had never wanted a complete stranger to bring her baby into the world, and this was most welcome news.

As William and Gibbs smiled and patted Elizabeth's hands together, Jack Sparrow turned and stared at all of them, his mouth open slightly in surprise... he then turned his worried eyes back to the angry skies. "Things are gettin' stranger an' stranger in this cabin," he mused, as his companions turned to look at him, "... and the storm is gettin' closer an' closer out there..."

Just then, a bolt of lightning hit the water in the distance, with a clap of thunder... and Elizabeth suddenly gasped in discomfort, one hand shooting to her pregnant belly. Jack jumped in alarm, and he shot his head around to look at her like as if he'd had a heart attack. Elizabeth took a deep breath and said, "Oh dear... I think that the cramps are getting a bit more intense..." And with that statement, the seas took a cue from Elizabeth's more frequent cramps, and began to roll harder, and stronger... like labor pains of a storm about to be born.

Elizabeth suddenly cried out... Jack jumped again... and with help from William and Gibbs, she went to the bunk at the far end of the snug cabin. Looking at each other, Gibbs said, with solid conviction and a chuckle, "Well, I hate t' be th' bearer o' tidin's such as this," he looked at a wet spot upon the floor at his feet, "...but Missy, your water just broke."

Another clap of thunder shook the ship, as Elizabeth looked alarmed, Gibbs went to gather the basin, towels, and his medical box, William put his arms around his wife, who cried out in pain, again, and Jack shouted, "OI! That's it!" and hightailed it for the quarterdeck in a swaying stumble, arms flailing and bandana ends flying out behind him like flags. The storm was about to hit... in more ways than one. The seas and the sky were about to thrash with fury, and William Turner the Second, former blacksmith, former Captain of the famous Flying Dutchman, and Elizabeth Swann Turner, Governor's daughter, former Captain of the Empress and elected Pirate King, and crewmembers of the mighty Black Pearl, were about to become parents upon this day.

۞

As the sky grew black and the wind began to hum between the tall masts, Jack bawled orders at his crew, "LOOK LIVELY, YE DOGS! TRIM ALL UNNECESSARY SAILS! WE HAVE T' KEEP AHEAD O' TH' CURRENT BUT NO MORE'N' THAT! BATTEN DOWN! TIE OFF! MOVE YER ARSES!!!" He took over the wheel from Mr. Cotton, who always gladly gave it over to his captain when a blow was brewing. Cotton hurried down to the main deck to help Marty roll barrels together and tie them off, and Pintel and Ragetti had already climbed the rigging earlier and taken in the smallest of the unnecessary sails. They hurried to take in more.

It was imperitive to save as much sail as possible, but it was also important to keep the ship moving ahead so that Jack could maintain control of her with the rudder. To lose control would cause chaos, and any ship, including the legendary Pearl, could founder if not guided by experienced hands. She was Jack's lady... the captain's love... and the crew knew that he had their lives in his slender, artful hands. The crew also knew to watch the captain, himself. He was the best captain that any of them had ever sailed under, and after he was almost killed by the damaged mast in another storm, they all were mindful of knocking sense into him if it meant his safety. He had been lost to Davy Jones' leviathan beast once, and they had gone through hell to bring him back... and they had almost lost him, again. They were bound and determined to do what it took to keep their captain, himself, from harm.

Jack braced himself, and shoved his tricorn hat tighter down onto his head... the sky was black above him, even though it was mid-day, and the rain was starting. He wondered, absently, if his father, Captain Jonathan Teague, had braced himself in the same manner, with feet planted wide apart and hands gripping the wheel with whitened knuckles, upon the day that he, himself, had been born upon Captain Teague's ship off of the coast of India. He also wondered if his own father had been as worried about what was going on behind that closed cabin door as he was about William, Elizabeth, Gibbs, and that unborn wee one who was trying to join the crew of the Black Pearl.

Jack looked down at the door of the Turners' cabin as it cracked open. William's face appeared to stare up at the heavy weather, and then up to the man at the wheel, who looked every inch the pirate legend that he was. The expression upon William's face let Jack know that this was it.. there was no reaching Tortuga, now...Jack grinned down cheekily at William, and yelled, "Alright, mate, you are exactly where ye need t' be! You stay down there wif Izzy, an' I'll sweet talk me Pearl into singin' a chanty fer all of us! Hang on t' yer lassie an' t' Joshamee Gibbs, lad! We're in fer a hell of an afternoon!" William grinned up at his cousin, and yelled back, "Chanty, first, Jack... then we might need to have the Pearl sing a lullaby to a new baby! Fair winds, mate... it may be awhile before I talk to you again!" And above the wind, a wail of pain came from the depths of the cabin. William disappeared, and the door slammed shut loudly.

As the cold rain began to pelt him, Captain Jack Sparrow knew that it would be up to him and the rest of the crew to try to hold things together with three members of the crew, including his First Mate... and best friend... indisposed. He squeezed his eyes closed for only a moment and swallowed hard, "Come along for a walk in th' park wif me, Milady... I'll caress ye wif love, an' you can keep us all from harm jus' one more time, lassie... one more time..." the captain whispered huskily to the wheel, as he caressed it, his slender form bathed in the flashes of lightning that were crackling all around them...

To be continued...