A/N: Thanks to Phish Tacko for her help with this! Go read her stuff!
Ch. 28
It was midday when Angelica first noticed it. Jack was staring at her.
"What's up?" She asked, looking back at him.
"I could really go for some cheesecake right about now."
Angelica raised an eyebrow. "Cheesecake?"
"Yes. I'm craving cheesecake. Can we go to Cheesecake Factory?"
"We can go for lunch. We should see if Elizabeth and Will want to come too."
00
An hour later Will, Elizabeth, Angelica, Jack, and Angela were all piled into Will's truck and heading towards Cheesecake Factory. Since it was a full hour since Jack's cravings had started, he was starting to get antsy and was moving around a bit.
"Jack!" Angelica scolded, putting a hand on his knee as he moved his leg. "Calm down."
"I want sugar, though," He said. "Come on... Will, drive faster!"
"We're almost there," Will replied. "And I'm already going 10 miles over the speed limit."
Jack sighed. "Come on..."
"Relax, Jack," Elizabeth said, turning around to look at him. "Look, we're here."
"Finally."
Angelica rolled her eyes, but said nothing.
The group walked inside the restaurant and were seated quickly. After getting Angela set up in a high chair, they began scanning the menus. It only took Jack a moment to choose what he wanted.
"Find something you like?" Angelica asked.
"Hershey's cheesecake."
"For lunch?"
Jack nodded. "Yes, for lunch."
Angelica was about to say something about eating something a bit more healthy, but was interrupted by the waitress coming to their table. She was surprised to see a familiar face.
"Johanna? You work here?" She asked.
"Jack! Angelica! It's great to see you! Yes, I work here. How are you?" Johanna answered, smiling. "I'm Johanna, by the way. I will be your server," She said to Will and Elizabeth.
"That's Will and Elizabeth. We're fine. Jack's expecting another baby. How's Anthony? And your dad?"
"Both are pregnant again, actually. How far along are you?" Johanna asked Jack.
"Almost two months."
Angelica noticed how Jack was starting to tap his feet again.
"Jack's craving sugar, so he's being difficult," Angelica told the younger woman.
"Hey! I'm not difficult," Jack said, pouting. "You're just jealous because you can't eat cheesecake too."
"She can't eat cheesecake?" Will asked.
"She's lactose-intolerant."
"Jack! Don't tell them that!"
Johanna just watched the group interact, trying not to laugh as they all argued.
Will looked at Jack again. "So, she's not lactose-intolerant?"
"She is, she just doesn't want to admit it."
Johanna cleared her throat. She had other customers to serve.
"Sorry," Elizabeth said, apologizing for the whole group. "We'll order now."
Everyone placed their orders and Johanna hurried off to the kitchen and then to her other customers.
00
"Do you want some cheesecake?" Jack asked, sticking a forkful of the food in Will's face. Johanna had given Jack a good-sized slice of the cake, and he couldn't eat it all himself.
"You know I can't eat that," Will answered.
"Why's that again?"
"I'm diabetic, Jack," Will reminded him. "That cheesecake is richer than Bill Gates and if I were to eat it, I would probably go into diabetic shock, go into a coma, and die."
"That's no fun."
"No, it really wouldn't be."
Jack took another bite of his cheesecake, then another one. A few minutes later he started tapping the table with his fingers.
"What are you doing NOW?" Angelica asked. "You're worse than Angela. At least she sits quietly."
"I think the sugar made me hyper. I kinda want to run."
"Go walk around outside if you need to move," Will suggested.
"Great idea! I'll see you guys in a bit, thanks for the cheesecake, bye!" Jack said in one breath.
"Bye," Will, Angelica and Elizabeth answered.
While Jack paced around out in front of the restaurant, the rest of the group finished their meals. Angelica explained to Will and Elizabeth how she and Jack knew Johanna from the shelter. Will paid the bill for all of them, and Angelica left her email address for Johanna before they walked outside.
"Do you think Jack's nearby?" Elizabeth asked.
"I'm right here," The pirate answered.
Everyone looked down to see Jack sitting on the curb, head in his hands.
"Are you okay? We thought you'd be walking around," Will said.
"Just got a bit tired is all," Jack replied, forcing a smile.
"Probably just crashed. Come on," Will said, extending his hand to help Jack up.
Jack grabbed on to Will and let the blacksmith lift him.
"We'll go home and you can sleep."
Jack nodded and got into the car next to Angelica. Angela was in her car seat, sleeping next to them.
"Are you alright?" Angelica asked, noticing that Jack was being very quiet on the ride back.
"I'm a little bit dizzy," He said. "Maybe I'm just tired."
"We'll be back in a minute," Will told them.
No sooner had they gotten back on board the ship did Jack stumble down below deck and collapse onto the sofa, unconscious.