Chapter 3: Fuddle

The bottle was gone, it was well gone, and the next one too. And however trained he had become on pirate ships holding his drink, James knew there was no more he could take. It wasn't a drinking match, he was clever enough not to get into anything like that with somebody called Captain Jack Sparrow and Jack was happy enough to pour more for himself than to James each time, given Elizabeth had stopped opposing. She had in fact disappeared in the other room, putting the child to bed and James felt like he could be sleeping too. Setting his head down on the table he watched as Elizabeth came back to the room and started scrubbing pans with her back to him. Unbelievable how low Jack made her go! No servants, no security for the tomorrow, not even another room, but those two! But he smiled at the sight before him now, maybe Jack couldn't hold his drink so well after all. The pirate stood, slowly, edging away holding on to the table. His legs buckled and James was looking forward to the joy of seeing him fall when...

"Jack, no!" Pregnant Elizabeth was by his side in an instant to hold him up, then pushed a chair under him, "sit, sit, come on, you can't go weak on me now!" She did manage to sit him down and he leaned his head to her side and closed his eyes, giving a small moan.

James lifted his head and gave hick up, revolted, "you're in no condition to haul him over to the bed! Think of your unborn child, Elizabeth!"

"So what? Are you going to give me a hand? Are you in any "condition"?"

"I don't see why we can't just leave him there," he despised taking care of the pirate, but more so, he wasn't so sure about those conditions.

"Because he needs to rest in bed!" Elizabeth cried exasperated. "I don't think it was such a good idea I got myself convinced by him to let him sit out there in the kitchen all day. Sitting up's already taken a toll on him."

James opened his eyes wide, uncomprehending. Was hard for Sparrow to what? Sit? His drunken hazy mind cogitated slowly while Elizabeth was touching Jack's cheek to check how he really was. Not eating, not walking, Elizabeth's anger with the situation and Jack's stubbornness and while he was here, and the Pearl was nowhere to be seen! How come that didn't occur to him before? He must've been too uneasy and engulfed in the not slashing out at Jack faze. "I'll help," he finally offered. Elizabeth needed it. He dizzily stood.

"He can sleep in the kitchen," Jack looked up at Elizabeth, meaning James, before grabbing a hold of the back of the chair and pulling himself up again, frightened by the possibility of being helped by the ex commodore out of all people.

Elizabeth draped herself around Jack nevertheless, guiding him through the door. She stepped back to it once more after laying Jack down and shutting it, "there are blankets in the cabinet, James." She knew he would stay, she knew he wanted to make sure she was all right. And it was that last look that he gave him that made her come out to him that night a couple of hours later, she also knew he wanted explanations. She watched him sleeping for a while, maybe she should leave it till later? He and Jack did drink a lot. She turned to put some more logs on the fire and a pot with water on the stove, Jack might need it later on.

"I don't understand," she heard James' approaching voice, "is your husband badly? Those noises coming out from there earlier on, they didn't sound good."

Elizabeth smiled embarrassed. Was James now worried about Jack for her sake? The situation, nevertheless was a bit funny, "you heard Jack. You think he is my husband?" Her eyes sparkled in amusement.

"What? So he didn't even have the decency to marry you and that with a child and another on the way!" James was grabbing for his sword in annoyance, a sort of gesture, although he wasn't going to use it, "how can you live like this Elizabeth? Up all day, all night just to attend to his needs? Has he no pity on you? Has he not gathered enough gold to pay for servants?"

Elizabeth opened her eyes wide, "first of all, Jack's so uninterested in gold he usually manages to get rid of it pretty soon after getting it, second, he is convalescent and therefore not able to do much, and third he is not my husband, because I did marry Will!"

"Oh, right, so it's not a sin, it's not adultery either, but a widow having her way, is it? Elizabeth I would never want to hurt you, I'm sorry, but what would you think your father would think of you just living with this man!"

"You completely misunderstand. Jack has never asked me to take care of him! He didn't even want me to know he was ill! Gibbs took his to the midwife, cause there's no doctors around here and I happened to be there too cause of the baby coming and all. I owe this to him for...things I've done to him and for what he does for me all the time. Instead of going on with his own business, he takes the Pearl to meet the Flying Dutchman where Will is captain, from time to time. How do you think I got pregnant and twice?"

"What? So you don't...? So you didn't...? But he's in your bed."

"Where should he be James? There's only was good enough bed in the house for a sick man like him."

"Where's the Pearl then?"

"Mr. Gibbs takes good care of it, he should be back soon, but I'm afraid Jack'll not be able to join them just yet."

"But...but you can't care for him. You're giving birth soon."

"A few weeks yet, James. Don't worry about me. William was born on the Pearl, right into Jack's versed arms, it won't be any different this time."

"Jack's versed what?"

"I wasn't be the first woman giving birth on the Pearl."

"Oh," James pulled back, sighing. Not that he wasn't happy she was capable, strong as ever, but she also didn't seem to need his help, which did, unlawfully, dishearten him. She still had her Will and she had her Jack in a way too. Well, she will just have to put up with his concerns for a while as well. He will be around, cause who knows how long it'll take him to find this pirate king. "Uhm...Elizabeth...how much does Jack tell you about politics?"

"Politics?! Is that why you're here? To spy?"

"I will not lie to you Elizabeth. Yes, this is my mission, so that I can get back to the same position in society where I was before Sparrow...before you...before all this!"

"And what is this mission? Steal the heart of the Captain of the Flying Dutchman?" She scoffed, "I shouldn't have told you about Will. He's not exactly high on your list, is he?"

"No, but you are. I'd never hurt you, do you not believe me?"

"I do, of course I do," she crossed the distance between them and hugged him in a similar fashion as when they met.

"As a sign of my truthfulness I will even tell you about my mission. I'm here to find and assassinate the pirate king."

Elizabeth pulled back, searching his face unbelieving, then burst out laughing, "you really don't know who the pirate king is do you?"

"Oh, bugger, I knew it had to do something with Sparrow," he continued to curse under his mouth, "some relative or something?"

Elizabeth continued laughing, "well, yes, you could say so. It has to do with him. Cause you see Jack as a pirate lord..."

"Jack a pirate lord?"

"Of the Caribbean seas, yes."

"The brazen earth vexing codpeice! I should've known, how else could he, the cockered dizzy eyed death token could be such a legend!"

Elizabeth laughed again, at the childish insults this time. It was always fun to have James and Jack around at the same time, that's for sure. "Khm. So Jack voted for me too and as a pirate lord I had the right to..."

Now it was James' turn to laugh, "right. And how did you get to be a pirate lord if I may ask? Jack voted for you?" He asked not believing one word.

"It's a long story, it was a chance thing, being around at the right place at the right time. Nevertheless I became pirate king and it was me who led the lords into battle against Cutler Beckett. Well, it was really Jack with the speech and the fighting Davvy Jones and all, but in name, it was me and you should bow before the king if you're a pirate, which you really aren't, so..."

"You're serious. Are how does a pirate king cook, and swipe and carry water?" He still didn't believe her.

"By giving my ship the Empress over to who it really belonged to. I claim not to keep my title either, it was just really important at that moment in time that we, I mean Jack has control over the others. If there's another election, I'll be gone, in fact I'll vote for Jack myself."

"You're serious," James repeated, face paling and realizing that she was in fact telling the truth. Killing the pirates off from the top, he didn't understand before how much of a bad idea that really was. What is he going to do now? His life in the navvy is really over if he doesn't deliver. But his life with Elizabeth might not be.

She was lifting the large pot, she shouldn't be. He ran to help her, carry it into the room for Jack, even if he didn't know what it was really for. And while helping her he suddenly saw clearly what he was going to do, what his purpose was. He will protect the pirate king from now on. He will go back to the Maurinho as first mate and come back here from time to time to check on her. She might really need his help one of these times and no matter that it would probably only be in the role of a friend, a good friend, he will help her. How could he ever doubt on which side his heart lied?

The End.