Two months later.
"I'm not sure what to do with this stuff," Ed picked up a pile of clothes and looked at it critically.
Stede shot a look at him out of the corner of his eye. They were finally spending the morning clearing out Izzy's old room. It was pretty bare, with a few items of clothing, some books and papers in neat piles. Ethan still had not decided to move but they would be docking in the Port of Spain in a week and there they would look for a nice new bed and some matching furniture to decorate the room with, ready for when he was. Stede cleared his throat.
"I need to tell you something."
Ed looked up from the window he was struggling to open, the hinge stiff and black with saltwater and rust. His eyes shot to look at Stede. "What?"
Stede saw his worried face, "I'm sorry my darling I didn't want to tell you at the time, and I wasn't sure how to bring up the subject since we've been back, but I don't think it's fair to keep it a secret any longer."
"Whatever it is we can work through it."
"Darling please don't be angry with me."
"Fucks sake Stede, I can't promise to not be mad, but I promise that even if I am, we will talk it through. Now what the fuck is it?"
Stede paused, "Do you remember the night of the bonfire, In Barbados? The night we left."
"Course I do. One of the best nights of my life," Ed's face lit up with a smile at the memory of the evening.
Stede looked at his shoes. "Well. Do you remember when I went off and you couldn't find me?"
Ed nodded.
"I told you I'd gone to look for a specific flower I remembered grew on those cliffs," Stede fiddled with his sleeve cuff, avoiding eye contact.
Ed nodded again, suspicion raising his eyebrows.
"Well I had gone to look for the flower, honestly I had, but I spied Lucius and Jim through the bushes. I heard them say my name."
"Were they planning a mutiny?" Ed grinned. "Or talking about how hot you are?"
"No, no, Nothing like that. In fact… They had run in to Izzy."
There was silence. Then, "Oh," Ed nodded suddenly understanding.
"My darling, They gave Izzy the option to join our crew, and I'm so sorry my love but he… well he declined the invitation… in somewhat much more colourful words."
"Oh," Ed said again, unsure of what to say.
"What do you mean, 'Oh,'? Did you know?"
Ed stared at the floor and scuffed his toe around in the dust. "I saw them, I was looking for you and I saw them. They weren't exactly hard to spot. I don't really know what went down but I assumed when you all came back without him that he'd decided not to rejoin us."
Stede clutched Ed's hands in his own, "Darling I'm so sorry, are you dreadfully unhappy?"
"I could never be unhappy when I'm with you love. Does it make me sad that Izzy couldn't get past his issues to come sail with us? Sure. But he's nothing to me." Ed kissed the hands that still held his own, "Not when I have you, and Ethan, and Hallie, and the crew. He's one person. And who knows maybe he'll get over it, maybe one day he'll come back."
"I will never stop hoping for it for your sake. I didn't like him, but I know how much he meant to you. I know we could have worked things out."
"Even though he sold you out?"
Stede reached out a hand and tucked a wayward curl that had escaped the braid behind his husband's ear, "Even then my love. If he was willing to extend the olive branch I would have taken it."
Ed abruptly pulled Stede close to his chest and hugged him tight. "I love you. So fucking much," he said into Stede's hair. "Have I ever told you that before?"
Stede smiled, "Only once or twice my darling, Every hour of every day."
"And I'll keep telling you that."
"I love you too my love." Stede pulled away, "Shall we go put some of this stuff in the hold until we make port? We could probably sell or donate the clothes and books there."
Ed wound his fingers through Stede's, "Good plan. Following your lead, Co-captain."
Up on deck they found Buttons trying to deal with a slightly agitated Olivia, who seemed to have something white held in her beak. He was trying to get it away from her but she wasn't letting him. When she saw Stede however she flew towards him and landed on his shoulder. Her black eyes stared at him as she thrust the letter towards him and flapped her wings.
Stede raised a hand, amusement playing on his face, and took the square parchment. He recognised Mary's spidery handwriting and nodded to Olivia. "Thank you."
Olivia flew back to Buttons who tutted her, "Ach, you had to deliver it personally to the Captain, did you?" He patted her beak once and she preened self-importantly.
"It's a letter, from Mary," his eyes shone and Ed tucked his chin over his shoulder.
"Well open it up then," he urged with impatience.
Stede unfolded the paper and they began to read.
To Captains Edwards and Stevens
and Ethan and Hallie
The Revenge
Dear Stede and Ed.
YOU FUCKING FUCKERS JINXED ME!
Doug and I wish to inform you that I'm pregnant. About two months the doctor says, so I must have caught the baby fever from you! We haven't told many people yet, not even the kids but it won't take them long to work it out if their mother keeps chucking her guts up every morning. Apart from the morning sickness things are going alright though. Doctors are keeping an eye on me though as I'm older than the general pregnant person. They're calling it a GERIATRIC PREGNANCY! Can you imagine? The nerve of them! I swear they won't be using that phrase around me again after the serve I gave them about it.
As you can imagine things are taking a bit of time to get used to, and because of this we wondered if we could possibly take you up on you taking the kids for a while. Doug and I can have a little bit of time to ourselves, (even though that's what got us into this mess in the first place) and we can prepare the house a bit, find all the baby stuff that's in storage, buy anything we need to replace, and have a little holiday.
I know this is probably sooner than you thought but if this works for you I'm proposing we meet you in Marley Vale on the 3rd of next month, would love to all do lunch together and catch up with the kids and the crew, then you can take the kids and Doug and I can stay there for a week on holiday. We could then come back to Bridgetown, spend the second week working on the house, meet you in Fitts Village at the end of the two weeks.
If this sounds doable, send me a letter back with the weird seagull and we'll tell the kids. Louis has been bugging me for another 'jam session' with Frenchie, as he calls it, and Alma has taken to throwing kitchen knives at the tree in the front yard, scared poor Mrs Battersby half to death when she came to call on us the other day, perhaps Jim could give her some safety tips?
I hope you are all well and haven't picked up any more stray children, Any more and you'll have to start a floating creche.
Looking forward to hearing back from you, and hopefully catching up with you next month.
Sincerely
Mary and Doug
Stede turned to look at Ed's grinning face, "Well I don't think I even need to ask you what you think about that idea. I assume you're agreeable to it?"
"Only if you are love." Ed shrugged nonchalance dripping from his shoulders, but a smile playing on his lips, "I mean it would be super easy for us to head there after the stop at the Port of Spain."
Stede nodded as his heart swelled with hope "Then I think it's, how did Mary put it?" his eyes skimmed the letter, "Ah, yes, Doable."
Ed's face split into an excited grin, "Fucking Yes! I want in on the jam session this time. Louis and Frenchie seemed to really hit it off at the bonfire."
"Maybe we can make an evening of it and get everyone involved, Wee John can get the cajon out and you and Ethan can play on the piano."
"And you love."
Stede waved him away, "Oh I'm hardly ready for an audience."
"Who said anything about a fucking audience? It will just be all of us, making noise."
"I'll think on it. I for one can't wait to see Jim's face when we tell them about Alma nearly murdering the neighbours."
Ed chuckled, then thought for a moment. "Maybe when we're looking for furniture for Ethan's room we also get a good set of throwing knives for her." Ed mused, then stopped as he saw the look on Stede's face, "Oh shit is that an inappropriate gift? Is she too young? Will Mary absolutely murder me for even suggesting it?"
"Hush love," Stede cut off his husbands rambling. Then sighed. "She's growing up fast. I'd much prefer she learn properly with good knives than keep blunting the ones she's stolen from the kitchen, and I'm sure Mary would agree." Stede swallowed a smile. "Mary pregnant again. I hope Doug knows what he's in for. If this one is anything like Alma it will keep them up all night."
"Hopefully its like Louis then, yeah?"
"Oh no Louis threw up on everyone and everything. He was a messy baby," Stede wrinkled his nose.
"Well then, I assume we lucked out and happened upon the worlds best behaved baby on the planet." Both of their eyes trailed to where Hallie lay in Roach's arms babbling happily.
"She's hardly been easy my darling."
Ed wrapped his arm around Stede's waist, "Nothing worth having is ever easy, love."
They stood in easy silence watching their family on the deck. Finally Stede spoke.
"So it's decided then? Alma and Louis are to join us for two weeks?"
"Can't think of anything better. We'll have to have a word to the crew, language warnings and what not, Can't have the little terrors picking up too many bad habits while they're here, And Roach might need to tone down the spice level on a few of his meals. They can stay in the room we're readying for Ethan."
Stede turned and wrapped his arms around Ed's neck. "I love that you are thinking of the kids." He rested his forehead against Ed's.
"Yeah, well, They're kinda special to me you know? Somehow they wormed their way into my middle-aged black heart," Ed sniffed with a smile.
"Well technically speaking you are their stepdad."
Ed pulled away, "The fuck?"
"What will they call you, I wonder?" Stede grinned slyly "I'm their Dad, but your Ethan's Dad, and Ethan calls me Papa." He placed an innocent finger on his chin and pretended to think. "This could get confusing."
"They can call me Ed," Ed growled, his wide eyes staring at Stede in a slight panic.
Stede clapped his hands together with delight, "Papa Ed, It's perfect."
"What? No, I did not agree to that, that's bullshit, it makes me sound like some fucking ancient Santa Claus type figure."
Their argument was interrupted as Ethan ran up to them and pointed at the crew behind him. "Lucius, Wee John and I made a kite! Will you… Will you come and watch me fly it?" he asked shyly.
"Of course Chook." Stede beamed at him.
Ethan slipped a hand in each of their hands and began to walk backwards, pulling them towards where the crew were chatting happily.
"Just a moment love," Ed squeezed his hand gently, "We'll be there soon."
Ethan turned his brown eyes to meet Ed's, "Promise?"
"Promise."
They watched as Ethan ran back to Wee John, who scooped him up and put him on his shoulders.
Ed snaked his arm around Stede's shoulders, leant into him and kissed the side of his head, "Are you happy Stede"
"Ecstatically so my love."
Ed grinned maniacally as he rubbed a hand up and down Stede's back, "Then you'll forget all about this Papa Ed bullshit. If you breathe a word about it to anyone, I'll throw you overboard."
Stede closed his eyes and smiled, leaning his head on Ed's shoulder. "You love it."
Ed snorted, "They can call me Ed."
"We'll see." Stede grinned, knowing Ed would melt the first time Alma or Louis called him Papa Ed. He turned and took Ed's hand in his own. "Now I believe we promised to go and see our son fly a kite."
Later on that day, after Roach had fed them all a delicious afternoon tea, Ed and Stede stood behind a beaming Ethan who had finally got the hand of kite flying. Hallie lay in Stede's arms blowing slow bubbles, and Ed had a hand on Ethan's shoulder, His other arm, wrapped around Stede's waist.
"Daddy?" Ethan handed the kite to Wee John and turned his head to look back at Ed.
"Yes Chook?"
"We are a family aren't we?"
"We sure are love. You, me, your papa and Hallie."
"And Uncle Lucius and Uncle Roach and the rest of them?"
"Yep, They're like extended family."
"And Alma and Louis, they're 'stended family too?"
Ed scooped the boy up and kissed his cheek, "Yeah, They're 'stended family." He smiled at Stede over the boy's head. "Our family is very special love. It is not defined by blood, or who you're actually related to, Sometimes those people can be not very nice people to know. But we found our own family, by building relationships through love and care for each other. Family are the people who chose to stick by you, through hard times and good times."
Stede's eyes filled with happy tears as he leaned over and kissed Ed's cheek. "I wouldn't change our family for anything."
