Author's note: This chapter is rather fluffy!... enjoy! Pirate Cat

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Elizabeth put Little Will in his basket, warmly wrapped in his blankets, and joined Janie in the kitchen, as Jack and William brought in their bags and various parcels to take to their respective rooms... Little Will fussed at being departed from Janie's arms, and began to pucker up to cry, until his mother pulled a chair next to the cookfire in the kitchen, and took him back into her arms... Elizabeth noted that there was a bowl of bananas and limes in the middle of the kitchen table, as well as in the center of the large, round wooden table in the great room... Jack's favourites, Elizabeth quietly noted... Janie always knew when to have the expensive fruit ordered in, especially for him... this place truly was the captain's treasured haven against the rest of the world, as it had also become theirs.

The kitchen, as always, smelled so tempting... of spices, dough, aromas of simmering meals and memories of comforting words. Elizabeth noticed that there were several jars and crocks of wild plum jam on the shelf, just waiting to be spread upon fresh bread... wild plum jam that held a tremendous amount of meaning to Jack and Janie... she wondered if Jack and William would be fighting over fresh butter brought by the milkmaid across the road.

She could hear William's booted footsteps upstairs in the room that they always shared, and could hear Jack's muffled voice, as he talked to himself in Janie's bedchamber, off of the great room... it was hard to tell what he was muttering, but it was obvious that he was having a rather animated conversation with someone that he thought had accompanied him.

Janie was standing in the doorway of the kitchen, a serious expression upon her freckled face as she listened to Jack's voice, one hand smoothing her hair and the other one at her waist... she had known the captain nearly all of their lives, and yet she had yet to get used to the shadows that only he could see, these days... he seemed to lose himself to those shadows when he was under stress, or was tired, but most times he was simply randomly overtaken, for no reason... it was then that his mild mental problems had no rhyme or reason to them, and his mother had been afflicted in the same way... no matter, she thought. She would always love him with all of her heart, just the way that he was... once again, she thanked the Turners, silently, for looking after her addled, odd Jackie... she thought, recently, that he was never to come back to the Ó Madáin Inn. She could not exist without Jack Sparrow in her life, and would be forever grateful to the young couple who loved this eccentric man as much as she did.

Turning to Elizabeth, she smiled, and said, in her light Irish lilt,"Well, Izzy, now that all of ye have arrived, how was the voyage? I hear from the talk in the village that the Royal Navy has been having quite the time of the 'pirate problem'..." A prideful sparkle came to Janie's eyes.

Just then, a loud "thud" came from Janie's room... Elizabeth and Janie both jumped with a start, and then chuckled when Jack's husky voice called out, "... no worries... sorry... no injuries... nothin' broken... bones, or anything otherwise..." Janie shook her head, as Elizabeth scooted her chair closer to the fire and prepared to feed her fussing son... Janie paused to sit with her, as she put on water in a kettle over the fire to make her special whiskey-laced tea for all of them.

"The voyage was one of the fastest that we have ever made, Janie!" Elizabeth exclaimed, her eyebrows raising high, as she held her son to her breast. "We were chased for a good distance across the Atlantic after we sank The Kingston! Of course, as per usual, we raided her after only one cannon volley over their heads..." Elizabeth drew herself up proudly. "After the Navy vessels regrouped... the cowards... we outran them in only a day or so. Strange, we always have a warm wind in our favour, now," she mused, as she quieted Little Will's waving hands... long, slender, elegant hands that were identical to his cousin Jack's.

Janie smiled, mysteriously, and cooed at Little Will, as he struggled to keep his eyes open, "... and what does our captain and our first mate say about that favourable warm wind, I wonder? Many stories have been coming back from over the waters about the Black Pearl and how she is more feared than ever, not for her bloodthirsty crew, but for her almost ghostly speed, and her storied captain and his first mate!"

All three of them jumped a little, again, including a startled Little Will, as another loud "THUD" and the tinkling of a broken vase came from Janie's room, again, and another husky, "... Sorry... I'll get ye another one, Janie, love... ow..."

Another masculine voice answered the innkeeper's question, as William came into the kitchen, with his own mysterious smile, and a pause, as he looked over his shoulder at the sound of his cousin's muttering. His shirt draped open, and his muscled, scarred chest showed, ever so slightly,"... the warm Irish wind in the sails of the Black Pearl, Janie? We do not question it... it is the same wind that guided us home upon the night that we rescued the two gypsy children a year ago..."

The handsome young first mate leaned down over his wife's shoulder, and ran a finger over his son's chubby pink cheek, as the babe nursed, "... the Irish wind looks after her loved ones, now... the Pearl is in good hands, these days..."

There was more muttering from the great room, as Jack was now sauntering through to join them in the kitchen. Stopping for a moment, he seemed to be talking to the chandelier. William frowned slightly, then grinned at the two women who found themselves looking at the chandelier, also. Chuckling at them, as they realized what they were doing, William kissed Elizabeth's cheek and said, "... as I said, the Pearl is in good hands... even with a captain whose brain is as fried as Jack's is..."

In another time, his behaviour might have alarmed them, but now it was simply Jack being Jack, whether he could help it or not... upon another visit to the inn, Jack was dreadfully embarassed at his deteriorated mental condition, and had been worried that the Turners and Janie would forever turn their backs upon him should it worsen... his worries had been unfounded, although he would always have the fear of abandonment rankling in the back of his mind. With their caring, however, the back of his mind was, thankfully, further back than it had ever been, and he would do his best to muddle through.

At this particular point in time, the captain was looking up, leaning way back, his long, trinketed black braids dangling behind him, his red bandanna tails woven through them like a bright Persian rug, his eyes trying hard to focus on one particular evergreen bough with a small sprig of holly dangling lower than the others...he turned to look at his companions, his mustache twitching, and his eyes gleaming a bit.

He blinked at all of them, and said, "... He started it!" and he pointed a long finger at the chandelier... "He followed me in there, an' kept makin' me drop things..." turning back to the chandelier, he narrowed his eyes at nothing, and growled.

Janie sighed, pushed her hair out of her eyes, and got up out of her chair... walking out into the great room, she looked up at the chandelier, then at the dark captain, who was swaying back at the hip again, frowning upward. Wrapping one arm around his slender waist, she shook a finger at the chandelier and scolded, "... here, now! We've had about enough, and ye've had your fun, so off to the forest with ye! And it is NOT your holly! 'Tis mine, now! Goodbye! Slán agat!" She punctuated her statement with a curt nod and a finger poked one more time toward a harmless candle that was sticking up from the overhanging evergreen.

Jack and Janie wrapped arms around each other's shoulders, and the captain leaned in, an whispered into the innkeeper's ear, "... ye saw 'im, too?" The Turners laughed, as Janie snorted and rolled her eyes, "Leprechaun!" And Jack, with his eyes gleaming oddly, impishly stuck his tongue out at the offending candle.

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The afternoon went on, and they all retired to the old leather couch, with its large cushions and the thick blankets... William broke up a very large chunk of peat, and threw the pieces on the fire, making it roar back to life and send swirls of sparks up the chimney, an action that always brought a small smile to his face... it was one of his earliest memories of his life with his mother, as he was always fascinated by something so small as the sparks making their way up into the smoky darkness... he had even still noticed the small sparks as he forged his creations at the blacksmith shop in Port Royal, flying off of the pieces of iron that he was forming into this horse shoe or a new door hinge for a barn. It was a small thing, those sparks, but William had learned to appreciate small things more and more.

He sat down next to Elizabeth, who had put Little Will down for his nap, drowsy and uncomplaining in his basket at her feet, covered with bottom edge of the same blanket that was now warming his mother and father.

Jack was finally completely warm for the first time since they had arrived... Janie was cuddled into his arms, both covered up to their chins in two blankets. Jack was finally, once again, in control of all of his faculties, and was happy as he could be, as he said, "... I wonder how close Joshamee Gibbs is to County Clare by now? He took off at a rather sprightly pace, fer Gibbs," He laid his own cheek against Janie's, and idly began to twirl one of her curls around his finger, something that he had done for as long as he could remember. "Ye know," he continued, "I have never really known him t' be interested in anyone as much as he likes 'Meg' O'Shaughnessy! Think of it! Gibbs! Wif a girlfriend!"

Elizabeth frowned at her captain and said, "I think it's sweet. Joshamee is a very attractive older man, and I think it's nice that he has a lady friend that he is interested in... he has even left the wenches alone, just like YOU have, Jack!"

William had been sipping some rum, and he nearly spit it out, when Jack whined, "Izzy!"

Janie's mouth had dropped open in astonishment, as her head turned around so quickly that her curl jerked right off of Jack's loving finger. Her wide eyes stared straight into Jack's round, kohl lined ones, and William was now snickering at Elizabeth, who was gathering herself up to puncture her captain's ego... not so much to take any wind out of his own sails, but to impart a truth to the woman who he was obviously in love with... a truth that he, himself, might have trouble talking about.

"Janie, we will have you know that Captain Sparrow has actually been ... well, at least from what we can tell... rather 'faithful' to his 'almost wife'! He has been taking it very seriously that Will 'almost married' the two of you last November, and has been stealing the wenches' valuables and has been getting very, very drunk, very, very often! He has been staying away from their beds by quite happily scampering off to gamble and carouse the night away with their earnings, singing badly and getting snockered in ports from here to Zanzibar!" Elizabeth chirped, as Jack winced under Janie's unwavering scrutiny.

Elizabeth continued, gleefully, "Captain Sparrow has been earning very hard slaps all around the world for his impudent rejection of the ladies' charms, except for ogling at them and an occasional pinching of said 'charms'..." William whooped with laughter at this statement, "... and his blatant larceny of their hard-earned wages! He does not know it, but we... " she finished, triumphantly, indicating herself and William, "... have been keeping an eye on your 'almost husband', just for the fun of it!"

Jack stared at William for this insubordination, who grinned and shrugged, "We all know that most of your legend is what you have made up yourself, mate... not always necessarily founded in fact!"

A freckled hand was soon gently turning Jack's face back toward hers, as Janie seriously looked deeply into her love's eyes. They had never once made demands of each other in this respect. "Jack..." she said, softly, "... is this true?"

The captain said nothing for a moment, as the fire crackled and popped in the fireplace. His deep brown eyes danced a bit, as he placed his own hand over Janie's upon his bronzed cheek, and replied, "... I was doin' all o' that, before, love... ye vexed me for a long time, remember? Besides..." Jack leaned over and put his bandanna'd head on Janie's shoulder, sideways, his round eyes looking up at her, "... besides, it's a well known and documented fact all 'round th' world tha' Captain Jack Sparrow hijacked an entire shipment of rum outta Saint Thomas Island for 'is own comsumption. If ye don't believe it, ask Joshamee. He was there. Except for me Janie, I like drinking good rum even better than I like chasing wenches. Rum is a much more better lover than any wench in port... much easier to find an' get along wif, an' that is a bloody fact! Th' only thing that I loves more than rum is me Janie..."

As Jack batted his eyes at her and made puckering sounds at her, Janie whispered, "Jackie, me darlin'... that is one of the sweetest things I have hever heard! Whether it's true, or not!" And with that statement, she stroked his dark cheek, and leaned into a deep, long, tender, loving kiss... one that he nearly had to break for lack of air.

As Janie snuggled happily into his bony shoulder, the captain took several hard swallows of rum and murmered, "...Oi! That is why I stick t' rum, singing, pilfering and gambling in port, an' come back t' Ireland for kissing." He quietly and serenely rested his own chin against her head, the two braids from his beard dangling over Janie's forehead like her own strings of beads. With their blankets cocooned around them and their blissful expressions, the Turners both thought that they were regarding a perfect example of two peas in a pod.

Considering the hardships that they all had endured in their lives, and considering the circumstances that had brought them together only a year before, it was a great feeling of security, merriment and restfulness that prevailed over the two couples and wee baby who so deserved it upon this cold night...the great room of the inn was warm with more than just the peat in the fireplace... and the mighty Black Pearl gently rocked back and forth in the cove outside, hearing a whispering across the waters of other Yuletide visitors that were making their way toward the rocky shores of County Galway...

To be continued...

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