Thank you everyone who reviewed! I appreciate it!
WARNING!! This chapter is a bit violent.
I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean, Disney does. I only own the characters who weren't in the movies. You know, the ones I made up.
"Chrissy, are you alright?"
I didn't move from my spot, clutching the railing on the port side, upon hearing my husband's voice not far behind me.
"Darling?" he whispered, once he was out of earshot of the crew. "Are you feeling alright? You look a bit…flushed."
I forced my painfully, tightly squeezed shut eyelids to open, and looked up into the concerned, soft green eyes gazing at me. "I'm…the baby…" I said softly, my left hand leaving the railing to rest atop my swollen belly. "Is kicking harder than usual. The waves seem a bit rough on this boat, too…that's all."
"Do we need to go back to Port Royal?" he asked, more urgently. "Do you need a midwife?"
I smiled. "No, James. We're hours away from port, and I'm not having any symptoms pointing to going into labor, if that's what has you worried."
He studied me for a moment, sighing. "I'd feel better if you would at least go lie down."
"Really, James, I'm alright. I think the fresh air will do me good, rather than your cabin."
"You're turning a light shade of green, Chrissy! You need to lie down." he said a bit more forcefully.
"Admiral Norrington," I chuckled, "I'm just a bit seasick! I'll be…"
"Go lie down, Mrs. Norrington. That's an order." he interrupted in a low voice, lightly gripping my upper left arm to walk me to his cabin.
"Excuse me!" I growled, receiving a surprised look and a glare from my husband. I, too, was surprised at my sudden anger. "Do I look like one of your men? You can't just order me around!" I hissed in a dangerously low voice.
His jaw clenched, he leaned down close to my left ear. "The crew are watching, Mrs. Norrington. Remember that I need to keep their respect in order to run a tight ship. I always run a tight ship." he hissed. "Please, come with me to my cabin."
I sighed. The respect of his crew did play a large part in his running a tight ship. If they saw their commander, the 'scourge of piracy', be defied by a woman, I doubt the sailing would continue to go so smoothly.
"Alright. Take me to your cabin." I huffed.
Once we began making our way to the cabin, the stares from the crew began to lighten, and soon no one was watching us by the time we reached the cabin door. Or, it could have been that they were receiving death glares from James, and I didn't catch him doing it.
"What is it? What's your problem?" he asked, again in that dangerous voice once the cabin door was closed.
Then, the strangest thing. I felt very weak, and not so angry. "I'm sorry." I whispered.
"Pardon?" he asked, walking to me until I could feel his breath on my face.
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you look foolish in front of your crew!" I paused to take a deep breath, calming myself. "You're right. I need to lay down."
He gently gripped my upper arms from behind, leading me to the bed. He helped me sit, then joined me on the bed with furrowed brows. "Are you certain you're alright?"
I nodded. "I don't…I don't know what came over me!" I said softly, my voice cracking. "One moment I was fine, then I felt sick, then angry, and now I'm here, upset in your cabin."
He draped one of his left arm about my waist, then rested his free hand on my stomach, his thumb messaging a small area. "Do you remember what the midwife said? How pregnancy causes you to be a bit…emotional? That's what's wrong with you. Just a bit of mood-swing and seasickness, that's all." he soothed.
"But, your crew…"
"My crew probably thinks I brought you down here…so they couldn't see me do something horrible to you. I've not lost their respect, Darling." he whispered, though I could hear the smile in his voice.
We fell into a comfortable silence, my hands finding his atop my belly, my head beneath his chin. He drew back slightly, though, when he felt the baby kick not far from where our hands were.
"That's a bit hard!" he whispered. "Does it hurt you?"
I nodded. "Only a little. It's not too bad, once you get used to the feeling."
"Here." he started, standing up. "Let me help you lie back. Perhaps if you're completely relaxed, the baby will relax, too."
He easily lifted me and laid me back so that my head was on the pillow, and myself laid comfortably back on the mattress. With a slight groan, I turned myself over on my right side, drawing my legs as close as I could to my body while wrapping my arms around my belly.
"You're sure you don't need a midwife? We could dock at a nearby port." he whispered, stroking my hair back from my face.
"I'm fine, James." I sighed, closing my eyes.
Hours after I'd convinced my wife to relax, I exited my cabin in search of fresh air. She'd fallen asleep not too long ago, and having finished paperwork and not being tired enough to retire to bed, I decided to give her a bit of time to herself; even if she was asleep.
I'd been keeping a very watchful eye on her lately, not allowing her to be alone for very long at all. Part of it was not wanting to be away from her…to gaze as she glowed anytime her hands rested on her belly and she smiled at it. The other part was ensuring she'd be safe, that she wouldn't fall with the extra weight, or something of that sort.
My kind, tender thoughts were interrupted, however, when I caught one of my crew members lighting a pipe on the deck. What was he thinking?! Every good sailor knows it not wise to have open flames on the deck of a ship!
"You there, Sailor!" I called. "Douse that flame! I'll not have smoking on my ship!"
The sailor looked at me with a glare, and at the same time, an amused expression. He sauntered up to me, took a few puffs from the pipe, and blew the smoke right in my face. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that?"
"You two, over there! Seize this man!" I shouted.
The other two sailors eyed me for a moment, before sauntering to me as well. One of them positioned himself behind me, and the other to my right. With the man with the pipe in front of me, I was boxed in against the railing of the starboard side.
"My friend with the pipe tends to get a bit irritated when he's told he can't smoke. He'll get pretty mean, sometimes. I wouldn't be messing with him, Admiral." he growled, snarling out the last word.
The one behind me grabbed the back of my coat, then dragged me across the deck and slammed me into the main mast, knocking the fresh, night air from my lungs. Out of instinct, I drew my sword, and pistol, and aimed them at the three men surrounding me.
"Not very wise, Admiral." One of them chuckled darkly, before promptly kneeing me in the groin.
The sudden pain in such an area caused my weapons to fall to the deck, leaving me defenseless. The three mutineers laughed at my display of weakness, before one of them delivered a blow to the left side of my face with his foot.
"Stand back, lads! I've been waiting a long time to get my hands on this one!" Another shouted.
I was yanked up by my coat, slammed against the main mast again, and was kneed multiple times in the stomach. I doubled over, trying to grasp whatever amount of air I could to fill my lungs. My attackers wouldn't have it, however. I found myself being thrown to the deck, and a foot landed harshly against my chest. My mouth flew open in pain, and I continued trying to breathe. I felt another weight atop my stomach, and found that the man that had yanked me by the coat was sitting on me. His large hands found my throat, and began squeezing.
I gripped his wrists, trying to rip his hands away from my throat, but had no such luck. I kicked my legs, I tried thrashing my body, but found myself getting weaker. My vision was growing darker, my head felt lighter, and I could feel my body giving in. But then, the weight was gone.
"Let him breathe, you bastard! We want to have a go at him, too!" One of them shouted.
I rolled on my right side, and gasped as I curled into a ball, sucking in as much air as I could. I nearly gagged, I was taking in such large sums. It didn't last long, though. I was jerked to my feet again, and the clothing covering my upper body was stripped away, until my skin was revealed. Two of the men gripped my upper arms and dragged me back to the railing on the starboard side. My chest was painfully shoved against it, knocking the breath from me again. They pinned me to the railing by my elbows, and I heard someone approach from behind.
"I had a brother once, Admiral." The man with the pipe said, pressing something cold, hard, and sharp between my shoulder blades. "He served under you. Good man, he was. Rarely ever got into trouble. Then one day, he made an insignificant mistake, and you had him whipped. He got sick, and died a few days later. The lashings were your orders, Admiral." he paused, pressing the sharp object harder until it broke the surface of my skin. "You're gonna pay, slowly, and painfully."
He pressed the…dagger, I suppose it was, harder between my shoulder blades, until blood began to trickle from where he was applying the pressure. I hissed and tried to grip the railing, but the two men seizing me by the elbows wouldn't allow it. The dagger was dragged slowly, crookedly down the length of my back, not stopping until it reached the top of my breeches. The matter was made worse when the man began kicking me in the center of my back, causing my strong spine to feel as though it would snap.
"Enough!" The man to my left shouted. "Remember what the captain said! He wants him to be in mostly good shape, so he can torture him for a good while himself!"
"Fine!" he huffed. "Toss him in the brig, we'll…"
The man stopped, abruptly for some reason. A shrill cry answered my curiosity.
"What are you doing, lass?" The man behind me chuckled.
I heard the strangled cry of my wife trying get past, and jerked around to see what was going on.
"Let him go!" she screamed.
"Why would I be wanting to do that, lass?" he cooed, holding her much too low across the chest to keep her from getting to me. He smiled as he pressed his face against her nape, his filthy right hand tracing her jaw.
"Release her!" I snarled, trying to jerk away from the men still pinning me to the railing.
To my horror, that's exactly what he did. He threw her to the deck, causing her to strike her left elbow against the deck while trying to keep from landing on her belly. She cried out in pain when she was grabbed by said elbow, and was pulled roughly to her feet.
"I'll give you two options, Admiral." The man growled, bringing his dagger to the delicate skin of Chrissy's neck. "We can patch up your wounds, but your wife will be thrown into the brig. Or, we can throw you in the brig, wounds untended to, and I'll let your wife stay in there with you. If you choose that option, neither of you will be fed for the rest of the voyage."
"I'll stay in the brig." I snarled in a low voice.
He nodded. "The brig it is, then."
I watched as they threw James into one of the smallest, darkest cells in the brig, causing him to hit his head on the back wall. I was thrown in next, landing on my left side on top of him.
"Here, you might want these after a few hours." One of the men said, throwing James's upper body clothing at me and hitting me in the face with it.
"James?" I whispered, turning to him as the men slammed the door shut and walked away.
James groaned in response, and tried to help me get off of him. I uneasily managed to push myself onto my bum, with his help, so I could get a better look at him.
His face was purplish, and slightly bloodied. Some of his hair had come loose from the ribbon tying it back, and had gotten stuck in some of the bloodied areas on his face. His chest, and mostly his stomach area, was turning purple, if not a bit blue as well. He was breathing heavily, nearly panting as he tried to roll over on his stomach, to relieve the pain in his back. The dagger wound was becoming swollen, and was still seeping blood, and a bit of pus; especially where the bastard had stomped him in the center of his back.
"Are you alright?" he asked me, his voice hoarse and pain-filled.
"I'm fine, James. I…"
"No, you're not." he interrupted. "You whimpered when he grabbed you by the elbow. Is it broken?" By the end of the sentence, he was out of breath.
"No, it's not broken. It just hurts a bit, that's all." I said softly, trying to keep my voice from cracking as I stroked his hair out of a bloodied area of his face.
"What about the baby?" he whispered.
"The baby is fine, too. I felt the poor thing stirring when you helped me sit up."
He nodded, trying to take deep, even breaths to get his breathing under control.
"Here," I said, grabbing his shirt. "Let's get your shirt on you. Maybe it'll help block out some infection."
He winced as I helped pull him to a sitting position, groaning when I pulled the clothing over his head and shoulders. With just a few quick tugs it was on completely, and I began putting his waistcoat on him as well.
"What do I need this for?" he groaned as I pulled his waistcoat in place.
"To keep you warm tonight. With your wounds, you can get sick easier if you catch the chills."
He seemed to accept that, for he didn't put up a fuss when I began buttoning it. I grabbed his coat as well, but he shook his head and gently pushed my hands down.
"But,"
"No." he interrupted. "You're only in a thin nightgown and a robe. You're going to need that."
"James…" I sighed, as he took the article of clothing from my hands.
He didn't say anything as he pulled the silky, dark brown coat around me, closing it snugly over my belly as well.
"Lie down." he whispered. "We'll stay warmer if we share body heat." he said, lowering himself to the floor on his left side.
I did as I was told, feeling his arms wrap around me once my back was pressed to his front. As we laid together, as usual, I tucked my head beneath his chin, and laced my fingers between his atop my belly. I felt him press a kiss to the top of my head, then felt his legs entangle with mine for extra warmth.
"We'll get out of this." he soothed, as though reading my thoughts.
Though I found it hard, I tried to relax. It was getting colder, and we were snuggling even closer for warmth. The baby even seemed to know what was going on, and didn't kick so much.
Uh-oh! Bad situation! Well, I'm sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out. I didn't want to just rush through it, and write down the first thing that came to mind. I've given this chapter a lot of thought! So, I hope you enjoyed it! Please review! Thanks!