Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own anything related to Pirates of the Caribbean. Well, except a Jack Sparrow poster, but that's pretty much it. Only original creations (characters, places, etc) are mine.

AN: Story's almost over, everyone! Please don't forget to review!

Chapter 24: Unexpected Joys:

Lunch with his son, alone, was not something Teague partook in often. It usually turned out to be something long, dull, and awkward, which neither one of them liked, but did anyway as a sense of duty to one another. So far, they had limited such meals to less than ten occasions in their lives, and this was one of them.

Sitting at the table, the two of them ate their meals in silence. Since there were no ladies present, Teague had chosen to have it served on plain metal plates rather than china, and their drinks were poured in rough wooden mugs rather than better ones, or in glasses.

When they finished, Teague and his son sat beside the stove, drinking rum and saying nothing. Finally, after a while, he spoke.

"Jackie, if you want to fix this situation with Evie, you're going to have to tell her your feelings," he said. "If you don't, you might lose her. Normally, you're not one to be at a loss for words, but I'm assuming the reason you're holding back is that you actually have no idea what to say to the poor girl."

His boy shifted in his seat and nodded. "Much as it pains me to say it, you're right," he admitted. "I can honestly say that I have no idea how to admit my feelings to Evie, and it's driving me mad."

Teague sighed. "Jack, my lad, all you have to do is get the girl alone, and just tell her. She can't bloody read your mind, so you might as well let the whole thing spill out before it's too late."

Jack stared at the glowing coals within the stove. "But what if it's too late already? What if she finds another lad here who gets to her heart before I do?"

After that, Teague let his son drink himself into oblivion, and after the lad had passed out in his chair, Teague had a few of his men drag his unconscious offspring back to his rooms, leaving him to his thoughts.

'Bloody hell! If Jack won't take matters into his own hands, I will!'

All that remained was to find the exact moment to do so…

A little more than a week after our arrival in Shipwreck, I found myself staring at Anna-Maria, wondering if I had heard her correctly.

"I'm sorry," I apologized, "but I could have sworn that you just said that you're getting married."

She blushed, but instead of smiling, she gave me something that was somewhere between a smile and a scowl. "It's your own fault," Anna scolded me, though it was barely halfhearted. "If you hadn't insisted that I 'get to know' Adam, this wouldn't have happened!"

I couldn't help laughing at that.

To be honest, it was my fault. The evening of the day we had first met Adam, Anna had come by to take me to dinner at an eatery that was popular with the inhabitants of Shipwreck. Since I hadn't had any plans, and Captain Teague hadn't invited me to dine with him, I had agreed to go.

We hadn't gone far from Captain Teague's wing before Mr. Marshall appeared. It was as though he'd been waiting for us to appear, and the moment that Anna saw him, she was on edge. I, of course, greeted him cordially, and Adam –as he asked us to call him- did the same. When I asked if he would care to join us for dinner, he accepted and smiled his thanks, though his eyes were focused on Anna-Maria, who did her best to ignore him.

Our journey to our meal had been fairly awkward, but Adam and I managed to talk about our different lives growing up, with Anna keeping silent as she walked behind me. When we reached the eatery, I had to hide a smile when Adam made sure to situate his chair so that he had a very good view of Anna-Maria, though he did it without seeming to slight me in any way.

The meal had been plain fare, consisting of fresh cooked fish, potatoes, and bread, but it had been masterfully made, and very tasty. Over the meal, Adam and I made polite talk about Shipwreck and those that lived here, while Anna pointedly ignored any questions that Adam made towards her. I, meanwhile, did my best to pull her into conversation with Adam, but she resisted my efforts entirely. If I hadn't liked her so much, I'd have lectured her on manners, and told her to at least attempt to be polite.

Afterwards, when my friends had shown me back to my room, I pulled Anna aside and gently told her to be decent to Adam, as he had insisted on seeing her back to her own quarters (a gesture I encouraged by commenting on how thoughtful he was).

Rolling her eyes, Anna quietly promised me that she would try and be decent to him, but hinted that I shouldn't be surprised if I suddenly saw the man limping around the Island tomorrow, nursing a black eye. Laughing, I sent the two off back towards Anna's rooms, with the promise of seeing them soon.

What I hadn't known was that, after the two of them left, Adam had finally coaxed Anna into talking to him by cracking a few jokes about Jack Sparrow, which was the perfect way to make her laugh. The two of them then began talking about Jack's adventures before moving on to Anna's own experiences at sea, a conversation that lasted well into the night.

It was an occurrence that continued from that evening onwards. Anna never breathed a word to me of how she began seeing Adam, as she felt that it would amount to nothing –or worse, that I would gloat and say 'I-told-you-so' about how friendly they were becoming. Because of this, they only met in secret, after I was safely in my own quarters, and away from prying eyes.

"My goodness," I breathed, smiling as I took her hands. "Well, I hope you can allow me a small 'I-told-you-so,' since I was the one who told you that Adam was a decent fellow."

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Alright, you were right. Now, I know it's a bit soon to marry, but I figure that if the prospect of marriage to a sharp-tempered, colored pirate lass like myself doesn't scare him off, he must be worth keeping. So, he and I plan to wed within the next week or two. I want to give him time to realize the commitment that he's taking on, especially since he'll be joining us on the Pearl when we set sail."

My eyebrows rose in surprise. "Have you told Jack yet?" I asked, grinning broadly.

Anna's grin was even wider than mine. "Not yet. Why don't you and I plan the wedding first, and then we'll move on from there?"

We immediately plunged into talks about attendants and outfits, but I was somewhat distracted. In the past nine days, I hadn't encountered Jack, not once. I heard from Gibbs (who we sometimes ran into on our daily explorations of Shipwreck) that Jack had taken on the immense project of having the hull scraped of barnacles. To do this, he had beached the ship on the far side of the island, staked it down so that it didn't float away, and had gathered a number of hard-working men to help with the task. That had been the day after we'd arrived, and I hadn't seen him since.

A finger poked me in the side. "Thinkin' about the Captain, are you?" Anna teased me. "Ah, I can see it in your face! Well, the rascal's been keeping himself busy and out of trouble, which I think is a good thing. The only problem is that it keeps him away from you as well."

I had to blush. "Anna! We're supposed to be talking about you and Adam, not me!"

She shook her head. "It's a sad thing that I'm getting wed before you, Evie," she said, her voice miserable. "You're a far kinder soul than me, and yet here I am getting hitched to a man I haven't even known for two weeks. Meanwhile, you're sitting there alone while that idiot Captain of yours is scraping shells off of his ship's hull!"

"He is not my Captain," I said, blushing. "Don't worry about it, Anna. Let's focus on you first, then move onwards to me and my odd situation."

It was clear she was reluctant to do so, but since Jack was a rather touchy subject, she gave in.

The rest of the day was spent creating lists and exchanging ideas over who to invite and who could be left out of the whole event.

Staring at the view outside his study, Captain Teague was doing his best to resist the urge to strangle his son. The foolish boy had gotten it into his head that Evie needed space and 'time to think,' and so he'd taken his sorry bum off to the other side of Shipwreck Island to tend to his ship.

If these had been different circumstances, such as Jack and Evie having a fight of some kind, giving the girl 'space' would have been a good idea. As it was, this was the worst thing to do while trying to win over a girl, as it left open the chance for her to find another man.

"The next time I see him, I'm going to knock some sense into that fool's head," Teague muttered aloud.

On a more positive note, he had just learned a bit of news that was going to give him the perfect, most opportune moment to get Evie and Jack together. All he had to do was call in a few favors, make a few threats, and work out a few details in secrecy, and everything would fall into place.

Teague smiled to himself. He loved it when things fell into place…

I shook my head. "Anna, I don't know if this is such a good idea," I began, but was cut off by her glare.

"Evie, you're my good friend, but please don't argue with the bride when she tells you to wear a color that she picked out," she retorted. "And it's a fine color that suits you, so just keep quiet, ay?"

Sighing, I straightened my new, clean white shirt and the beautifully decorated corset that went over it. I wasn't sure if red and black were a good idea for a wedding, but it was Anna-Maria's choice, and given how hard the seamstresses and corset-maker had worked over the past week, the least I could do was wear it.

"It seems a bit dark for a wedding, though," I said, looking at my black breeches and boots, as well as the black leather belt around my waist that held a knife at each side of my hips.

"Aye, but this is a pirate wedding, and since you won't match or clash with the gold-and-black corset I'm wearing, that suits me just fine," Anna said as she finished putting up her hair. "Now, help me with mine."

Once I finished lacing her up, we took turns tucking flowers into our hair. Anna was breathtaking, with exotic yellow blossoms woven into her midnight locks. I, on the other hand, had chosen to have one single red blossom in my hair, tucked over my right ear, and a bouquet of them in my hands. Rebel that she was, Anna had chosen to carry no flowers at all.

As for our three other female friends, they had chosen to sit at the front and smile happily during the ceremony. The ceremony was going to be an affair with only the Pearl's Captain and crew present, and our female friends had declared it only right that I be the lone bridesmaid, as they hadn't been friends with Anna as long as I had.

"Well?" I asked, looking over at our reflections in the floor length mirror. "Are you ready?"

She gave me a nervous smile. "As ready as I'll ever be."

I was surprised to see Jack standing, not at the altar, but rather in the position of best man to the groom, which was odd. He had returned only yesterday at the request of Anna-Maria, who wanted her captain to be the one to conduct the ceremony. He had agreed, and should be standing in the priest's position.

Instead, I saw Captain Teague in that place, a pleased smile on his lips as Anna and I took our spots at the open double doors that led into the large gathering chamber. I was shocked, to say the least, to spot members of Captain Teague's crew amongst the attendants and so, apparently, was Anna.

"Lord, what is he doing there?" Anna muttered as I made ready to make my way down the aisle ahead of her. "I didn't invite Teague here, or his crew!"

Sadly, I couldn't answer her, as the three crewmen assigned to play the wedding march struck up the tune, and I had to take my step forward.

Watching Evie step forward, two pirate captains did their best to hide their smirks.

The first was the Captain of the Black Pearl, who watched her with a heart that ached with love and longing, but also with great pride. He knew that the woman he loved was, to be quite honest, the most beautiful woman on the island, even more so than the bride who walked a few steps behind her.

The second was the father of Jack Sparrow, who had every reason to smile this day…

The ceremony was brief, to say the least. Anna hadn't wanted something that went on for ages –just a quick exchange of vows in front of a good number of witnesses and good friends.

Captain Teague was as straight to the point as she could ask for, and didn't even mention a thing about 'obeying,' a vow that I knew Anna would break in the blink of an eye. I had to grin as the Captain quickly pronounced Adam and Anna as man and wife, and applauded as Adam pressed a swift, passionate kiss to his bride's lips.

Watching the couple end their kiss and flee down the aisle, the crowd of attendants ushering them towards the suite of rooms that Adam had procured for them, I sighed. Holding my bouquet of flowers, I wistfully thought of a distant future where I was at the altar, marrying the love of my life.

'Oh, well.'

Not wanting to be caught in the rush for the door, I waited for the way to clear before leaving. By then, the only ones here besides me were Jack, his father, and his father's crew. Glancing over my left shoulder, I gave Jack a timid smile, which he returned. I thought he was about to say something to me when Captain Teague said something that startled me.

"Alright, then, lads, close and lock those doors," he ordered, a pair of his men rushing to do so.

In the blink of an eye, we were locked inside, and I quickly began to panic. Glancing over at Jack, I saw how alarmed and confused he was –apparently, he had no idea what was happening, either. I was considering the idea of bolting when I saw all of the old pirate men form a half-circle around us. They then reached inside their coats and each of them pulled out a pistol, all of which were swiftly aimed at myself and Jack.

"It might be best for you both to turn and face the Captain," one of the men said, motioning with his firearm.

"Aye, I would hate conducting a wedding ceremony to the back of the bride and groom," Captain Teague stated. "Now, turn around, and we can get started."

I turned to face him. "Wedding ceremony?" I gasped, feeling as though I hadn't heard him correctly.

That was when I realized what he had in mind. Panicked, I turned to someone I hoped would put a stop to this madness. As Jack's father's men pushed me closer to the altar and to Jack's side, I leaned towards him and hissed, "Jack, he's your father! Do something!"

The sound of a pistol being cocked sounded right above my left ear, causing me to turn and look straight town the weapon's barrel. At this point, I was ready to faint, but Jack slipped an arm around my waist, offering me support.

"I think it would be best if we did as Dad asked," he suggested, gently urging me to face forward.

I tried to protest, but was immediately silenced by the sound of several pistols being cocked all around us. Swallowing hard, I merely stood there, listening to Captain Teague conduct my wedding ceremony.

'Honestly, why didn't I think of this?' Jack thought in wonder. It was a stroke of genius, and it ensured that he and Evie would be together forever. Leave it to good old Dad to think of something insane like a pistol point wedding!

With his arm wrapped around his bride's waist, Jack was forced to use all his will-power to keep a broad, excited grin from escaping. He was getting married to the woman he adored, and after today, he would do everything in his power to prove his love.

"So do you, Evie Watkins, take my son, Captain Jack Sparrow, to be your husband? For better or worse, for richer or poorer, till death do you part?"

Evie looked as though she were going to either refuse or be sick, but at the sound of a few men clearing their throats, she merely said, in a meek voice, "I do."

His dad then gave him a look. "Well, Jackie? Do you take this woman as your wife, and promise to love, honor, cherish, and respect her for always?"

Did he even have to ask? "I do," Jack replied, without hesitation, earning him a knowing look from his father.

"Then I pronounce you Captain and Mrs. Jack Sparrow," Teague declared, smiling broadly. "Go ahead and kiss your wife, Jackie."

I barely had time to register Captain Teague's words before Jack's lips were pressed to mine. Oh, lord, they were so deliciously warm, soft and passionate that I never wanted it to end…

Then it was over, and Jack and I were escorted to a remote wing of the town, where all was quiet. We were then pushed into a room, and the door securely locked behind us. Looking around, I saw that it was an impressive suite: Jack and I currently stood in a large bedroom, with a doorway on the right leading to a bathing room, in which stood a large tub.

Slowly taking this in, I realized that I was now married to the man beside me, and that being my husband was probably the last thing in the world that Jack wanted. Swallowing hard, I turned and looked at him.

"Jack," I said, wringing my hands as I figured out what Captain Teague expected to occur, "We don't have to go further than this. If we don't consummate the marriage, it's not legal. We can still get a divorce."

I saw him frown at me, as though he couldn't believe what I had just suggested. Before I could ask what was wrong, he stepped forward and scooped me up in his arms, causing me to squeak in surprise.

"Darling," he said, "When it comes to us, a divorce is the last thing I want."

Startled, I could only stare at him as he gently set me on the bed, a very naughty smirk on his face as he leaned in to kiss me.

AN: The next one will be a cross between a chapter and an epilogue. Thanks so much to everyone reading this story! Your support has been wonderful!

As for the next story I'll do: I'm doing another Pirates fic, so keep an eye out for that. Again, thanks so much for reading, and stay tuned for the next (and final) part of this story!