I wished I had known you,

Wished I had shown you,

All of the things I,

Was on the inside...

The grandfather clock outside in the hallway rang two times, signaling that it was two o' clock in the morning. I was still sitting by Jackie, holding onto his lifeless hand. I could feel it grow less warm with every minute that passed by. His labored breathing wracked throughout the room, reminding me that it was hard for him to breathe now that he was finally dying. I let go of his hand and walked out of the room, only to check on Will.

He, Will, was sound asleep. His mother slept next to him on her stomach, her arm wrapped limply around his stomach. She must of gotten up earlier and snuck into his room, seeking comfort. I gave a sleepy smile to them and hurried back into Jackie's room.

There, I took off my boots and the belts that hung around my waist. I was so tired, tired of worrying and waiting and watching my son, who was so ill. I rubbed my kohl-lined eyes, letting it smear across my cheeks. So, so tired.

I laid next to Jackie on the bed and somewhat mimicked Elizabeth and rested my head on his shoulder. I could hear his heartbeat, but only just. I closed my eyes, letting myself rest. Only for a few minutes. Just a few minutes, I told myself. I drifted off, into a world I know long ago, where Jackie and Abigail played on the beach without a care...

o0o0o0o0o0o

"What were you thinking?" I asked Elizabeth when we got back to the house. In fact, I kept asking her that; I was so furious with her, I could not think of anything else to say.

Elizabeth sat in a chair, her head bowed down so that her drying hair would cover her face. Jackie sat next to her, his arm wrapped around her.

"Well?" I bawled. She recoiled beneath the wool blanket that was wrapped around her. "You don't know how lucky you are we–I– found you."

"Dad," Jackie says, quite calmly. "Can I talk?"

I closed my mouth tightly and nodded curtly. I had yelled myself hoarse anyways. Jackie turned to Elizabeth. "Now, Liz, we know we love you," he said.

She muttered something under her breath. He stared at her for a few seconds, then said, "Right.

"But Liz, we think you're a little, well...stressed. Since we all found out I was...sick...you've grown worse. To the fact that we think you're going to do something that we're all going to regret you doing. Whether to you or to someone else. Will, possibly," he sounded business-like. "Especially him. We think...because of what you did tonight...we think it's best that...that we remove Will and temporarily put him under the care of another Pirate Lord. Just until you get better."

With utter disgust, she sharply got up from her seat and began pacing the room. Jackie said, "Now, Lizzie, don't be sore about this. It's not another argument we're having, it's for the better. Just until you get better, I said, no exceptions. I promise, and for the first time, I'm keeping it."

"You need to stop this, Bess," I piped up, my voice still a little hoarse. "You just have to. We'll take care of you."

She stopped in front of me and looked at me with pure hatred, as though she just wanted to grab her cutlass and slash me into hundreds of bloody pieces. Instead, she turned back around and punched the table-top with all her might.

"Liz!" Jack cried, jumping to his feet. Elizabeth grabbed her swollen fist and made a choking noise, then screamed in pain. She collapsed onto the floor and curled up into a ball, shaking.

"Bess," I said loudly, worried, as Jackie bent down to help her. He looked up at me, and, for the first time, I saw how his illness had affected him; his eyes were dull and bloodshot. He looked as though he hadn't slept in ages, and lines were etched all around his eyes. He was pale--grayer than storm clouds, and you could see the veins in his tattooed and thin arms. His teeth grew yellow from induced vomiting, and he trembled all the time. He looked as though he had aged twenty years in the short period of time we found out his illness. My throat and eyes grew sore at the sight of him.

"It's not broken, but I think we'll need some leeches for the swelling," he told me. "And rum too; she's in a great deal of pain."

Once again, I saw blood form around the edges of his nostrils. "Jackie," I tried to tell him, but he said quietly, without looking at me, "I know, Dad."