Douglass Island was the entertainment capital of the Caribbean, complete with theater, monthly balls and parties, and wonderful shopping. However, the captain and crew of the Black Pearl were not here to be entertained. They were here because they'd gotten caught in a dreadful storm, forcing them to return to land. The captain was not too pleased about being stranded on a...
"Pansy Island! That's what this place should be called." Jack Sparrow stumbled into the Holiday Tavern, his crew following behind him. The female receptionist at the front desk opened her mouth in awe at the sight of the unusual guests. Jack tossed a few shillings on the desk. He commanded, "Room for two."

Elizabeth stiffened. Her newest discovery about her love for Jack made her uneasy. She stuttered, "Er...J-Jack?"
"What?" he seemed annoyed.
"I don't think..." she hesitated.
"Really? You don't think? Personally, I believe you think too much."
She smiled. "We shouldn't share a room."
"Naturally. Our history together and what not would make it uncomfortable...for you." He winked at her, making her heart flutter.
"Exactly."
"Which is why you're sharing a room with Gibbs." He pointed to his first mate. She coughed. Gibbs raised an eyebrow at his captain, retorting, "Um...I'll be fine. Thank ye though, Cap'n."
"Alright," Jack turned back to the woman at the desk, "room for one." She nodded, scooping the coins into her hands, "Second floor, room three."

Jack swung around to face Elizabeth, "And there you go." She rolled her eyes and grumbled, "Thank you. Where are you going to sleep?"
"Don't worry about me, Captain Swann. I think I'll stay down here and engage in some more...constructive activity rather than sleeping."
She searched the lobby. Tons of men and women were sitting around tables, cards in hand. She inquired to him, "Gambling?"
"Aye."
"That's constructive..." she sarcastically snapped.
He pointed to himself, "Pirate."
"I'll be in my room." She headed up the stairs.

The Holiday Tavern's accommodations were less than acceptable. The room smelled of manure and smoke. Rat feces were scattered on the floor, here and there. Elizabeth stepped over them and made her way to the bed. The mattress was lumpy and hard. She laid her head on her pillow only to realize that it was merely stockings stuffed into a pillowcase. She groaned and slid off the sorry excuse for a bed. Apparently, she'd risen to fast, for her head began to pound and the room started spinning around her.

Elizabeth leaned on a chair, rubbing her throbbing skull. She trudged over to the bookshelf in the room, consisting of a single written work. Surprisingly, it was one she recognized, "Pirate Legends." She flipped to a familiar chapter, "Notorious Captains..." There, on page fifty-seven, was Captain Jack Sparrow's biography. It told tales about his scheming adventures that she used to enjoy reading about as a governor's daughter in Port Royal. She closed the book, shaking her head, "They don't know the half of it." What about the time he battled an undead pirate? Or when he was made chief of a tribe of cannibals? Or when he came back from the dead after being eaten by the dreaded Kraken? No, the world did not know even a fragment of what he'd done.

Avoiding the unmentionable items on the floor. Elizabeth tucked the book under her arm and left the room. Downstairs she spotted her shipmates in the lobby, either watching or playing cards. The stench of rum and smoke filled her nose. She hopped down the stairs, holding onto the record of pirate legends. Feeling herself growing sick to her stomach, she exited the back door, disappearing into the forest of palms. Her face was immediately splashed by a shower of rain.

"I'll raise you five shillings," Jack dumped his coins into the bidding pile. His opponent, a large sailor, tipped his feathered hat and met the bid. The pirate of the two let out a long breath and pulled a sack from his belt. Shaking out ten more shillings, he threw them on the table. The sailor, Tad, nodded and agreed, "Ten more, Mr. Jenkins?" Jack had almost forgotten his fake identity. As long as he was on Douglass, he was Roger Jenkins. He smiled at the burly man, "Aye." Tad reached into his pocket and dumped the exact currency suggested. He glanced at his cards, asking, "If you win, what are you gonna buy, Jenkins?"
Jack responded, "A dress."
Tad raised an eyebrow.
"Not for me, mate."
"For a lady friend?" He grinned slyly.
"Yep." As they had been walking through town, Jack had noticed Elizabeth stop to admire a pale blue gown in one of the shop windows. He decided he'd buy it for her since she didn't have any ladies clothes.
"Good for you. I'm gonna buy me some whiskey."
Jack flashed his gold teeth, then answered, "Good man."
"I call you." Tad motioned to Jack's cards, "Whatcha got, lad?"

Jack reached for the four aces he'd tucked under the table. He always kept these with him so he would win almost every game he played. Laying his cards on the table, his opponent's eyes grew twice their normal size. Jack gestured to his winning hand, "Read it and weep." Tad glared at him, snarling through his teeth, "This is most unfortunate, Mr. Jenkins."
"S'alright, mate. You can't win 'em all." He began scooping the winnings into a pile towards him.
"I meant for you. How is it possible, sir, that you have four aces on the table, and I have a pair of aces in my hands, when there are only four in a deck of cards?"
Clearing his throat, Jack replied, "Uh...'tis a strange notion..."
"Cheater!" Tad shot up from his chair, flipping the table over.

The candle that had been on the table, rolled towards come barrels. Jack knew immediately what they were filled with. Gunpowder. The flame ignited some on the floor, setting it ablaze. "Run! This place is gonna go BOOM!" Jack shouted and started grabbing the coins off the ground. Tad and everyone else in the room headed for the door. "Everybody out!" Starting to follow the crowd, the thief remembered 'Elizabeth...' "Elizabeth!" He screamed to the upper story. Hearing a sizzling sound emerging from the other end of the room. Jack took notice of the flames moving towards the barrels. He had no choice. He had to leave. Bolting for the door, he looked back. Elizabeth was not coming. He stood in the doorway, hollering, "Elizabeth! Get out!" An explosion knocked him off his feet.

Jack rubbed the wet dirt from his eyes, then opened them. At first, all he could see was a bright orange blur, but, as his vision cleared, he saw what he feared. The whole tavern was on fire. Flames rose from the roof, out the windows, onto the nearby trees, spreading like a deadly disease. The rain did not quiet the flames. He could not hear the citizens of Douglass screaming. He could not feel the bump on his head or the sting of the burns on his face. He could only smell the burning wood and see the torching building. He was paralyzed with shock.

Elizabeth was dead. To him, his world had gone ablaze along with the tavern. Sitting there in the rain, watching the horrifying scene, he figured she had been in the room, sleeping, unable to hear him yell to her. She had blown up with the building. His heart split in two. Feeling a hand on his back, he looked up to see who was attached to the appendage. Gibbs. He was gasping, "Cap'n! Thank baby Jesus yer alright! I was afraid you'd gone up in flames with the tavern! Where's Miss Elizabeth?" Jack swallowed the lump in his throat, then managed, "She didn't make it out, mate."
"You mean she's..."
"Gone. Let's get out of here. Back to the Pearl." He stalked off towards the dock, Gibbs keeping in step with him.

Elizabeth, who was very much alive, flipped through the pages of the book she now carried with her. The rain soaked her hair and clothes, but she didn't mind. Sitting on a fallen tree, she read of the pirate legends she had had the pleasure of seeing, in person, only a couple months ago. After a while, she found herself on Jack's page once again. The drawing of him did not do him justice, she decided. The artist had not captured the depth of his eyes or the beauty of his smile. She shook herself, keeping her mind from wandering into a fantasy land.

Out of nowhere, a bright orange light glowed through the palm trees, scaring Elizabeth. She shut the book fast, like a reflex, and headed towards the aurora. Shoving the flimsy writing work inside her shirt, she noticed she was heading the direction of the tavern. "Oh, God!" she exclaimed aloud, "Jack!" The smell of burning wood filled her nostrils and, not long after, blinded her eyes. The tavern was on fire. She heard someone shouting her name. She started making her way to the front of the building, when it exploded. She found herself flying through the air, then landing hard on her side.

Elizabeth's injured shoulder was pulsing, and she could swear she heard it scream. A small spot on her neck was burning. When she reached to touch it, fire stung her finger. She cooled the burns with her sleeve and patted the dirt off her pants. One of her sleeves was barely hanging on the rest of the shirt. Sighing, she pulled it off, tossing it aside. Then, she remembered. "Jack!" She rushed over to a large sailor in a feathered hat, poking him on the shoulder, "Excuse me, sir. Did you by any chance see Mr..." she couldn't remember Jack's false identity, "...Jenkins?"
The man turned to face her. Rage was splattered on his face. "That cheater? He's somewhere around here. You'd better hope you find him before I do. " He growled and walked away. Elizabeth stopped to think.

Connecting the dots in her head, she grew anxious. She hadn't told Jack she was leaving her room, so he was unaware that she'd left the building. If he thought she hadn't left the building, then he'd probably figured she'd been in her room while the tavern was on fire... "Oh no."

Pushing through the crowd swiftly, Elizabeth found herself growing woozy again. The bread she'd had the evening before was beginning to crawl up her throat. She hugged her stomach and vomited on the ground. A tear slid from her eye, adding to the dampness of her face. Her head started pounding. Her throat burned and she began sweating. Coughing a bit and trying to clear her head, she went off to search for Jack again. 'What's wrong with me anyways?' she thought. 'I'm always throwing up and I get dizzy and I'm always hungry. Ever since Will left..." Realization washed away her confusion. She stopped dead in her tracks. She knew now what was wrong. Stopping abruptly, she let it sink in. 'I'm pregnant? I'm pregnant...I'm pregnant! I'm pregnant...I'm...pregnant...'