The crew stayed at Jackie'z until the sun had set and everyone was at least a little bit drunk. But eventually, Jackie forced them out of the bar so that she could close for the night, and they all stumbled back to The Revenge.
"We got a new crew mate?" Frenchie asked, eyeing Tilly, as everyone filled back onto the ship,
"This is Tilly, she's Ed's sister," Archie said.
Frenchie and Wee John turned to stare at Ed, "You have a sister?"
Ed shrugged, "I'm sure some of you do too,"
"I don't know, I never really imagined you having a family," Roach said.
"I've got five sisters," Wee John said, "They're all married with kids though. I don't know how many nieces and nephews I've got,"
"I don't have any siblings," Lucius said, "I don't know that I would have liked it. I liked being an only child."
Izzy coughed loudly, "You're going to want something different to wear if you're going to stay," he said, looking at the puffy dress Tilly was wearing,
"Don't tell her what she can and can't wear," Lucius said, "That's not cool. You can dress however you want here."
Izzy rolled his eyes, "She can wear what she likes but if you plan on working on this ship, you're going to want something more practical. Stick to the pretty dresses in the evening if that's what you want."
Tilly looked down at her dress and smoothed her hands over the skirts, "You're right," she said, "If I'm going to be a pirate, I need to look the part."
Archie grinned and held out her hand to Tilly, "Come on, I think I have somethings that you can have,"
"I might have something that'll fit you too," Jim said.
Tilly smiled, "Thank you!" She took hold of Archie's hand and allowed them to lead her below deck.
Archie and Jim took Tilly down to their and Olu's room and Archie instructed Tilly to sit down on the bed, as her and Jim pulled out a trunk.
"There's loads of clothes in here," Archie said, "Something must fit you."
"If there's nothing in here, you'll have to try the captain's auxiliary wardrobe," Jim said,
"I mean Captain's taller than you, but he has so much shit in there must be something you could wear. Although I wouldn't wear the captain's clothes if I were you, they're not very cool," Archie mused,
"What's an auxiliary wardrobe?" Tilly asked,
"It's a backup wardrobe," Jim replied,
"A backup wardrobe? Who has a backup wardrobe?"
"That's Captain Bonnet for you," Jim said.
Jim and Archie set about pulling jackets and trousers out of the trunk and lying them out on the floor.
"What's the captain like?" Tilly asked.
"He's nice," Jim said, "Kind. They're not words normally associated with pirate captains, out here kind tends to get you killed quickly,"
"But not him?"
Jim paused for a moment, "When I first met him, I thought he was incompetent, a fool, and that he was going to get us all killed,"
"But that didn't happen; you're still alive,"
Jim let out a laugh, "There's been some close calls, but he became a better pirate, at least in some part thanks to your brother, and I trust him to have our back. He's methods are mad but somehow, they work."
Archie held up a black shirt and trousers, "These might fit you," she said.
Tilly took the clothes and Jim and Archie both turned around to give her some privacy.
"So, my brother and Stede?"
Archie and Jim shot each other a look,
"What about them?" Archie asked,
"They just seemed…close in the bar,"
"What of it?"
Tilly finished putting on the clothes and made her way around to stand in front of Archie and Jim, "Nothing, I just wanted to know if there was something going on between them."
Jim and Archie both narrowed their eyes at Tilly,
"If you're not okay with that you can get off this boat right now," Archie said, a low edge of menace in her voice.
Jim put their hand on the knife tucked into their belt in an obvious threat.
Tilly raised her hands, "It's fine, it's all fine, I just wanted to know."
Jim and Archie eyed Tilly before deciding that she was telling the truth.
"Yeah, there's something going on there," Archie chuckled,
"A great tale of star-crossed lovers if you ask them about it," Jim said as they knelt back down next to the chest of clothes and pulled out a jacket, "Try this on,"
"And if I ask you about it?" Tilly asked as she took the jacket and slipped it over her shirt,
"Then they're two idiots who make their relationship everyone else's problem but somehow it works, and they make each other better."
"That looks good," Archie said, giving Tilly a once over,
"Thank you."
There came a knock on the door and Jim walked over and opened it to see Lucius standing in there in the doorway,
"Roach is making sandwiches if you want some," he said.
Archie nodded, "I could eat," she said,
"Me too," Jim agreed. They turned to look at Tilly over their shoulder, "You coming?"
"Oh, erm, I'm not really hungry."
Archie laughed and took hold of Tilly's arm, "You only say that because you haven't tried any of Roach's cooking. Trust me, this is going to be the best sandwich you've ever had!"
Tilly followed the others back through to the kitchen, where the rest of the crew was already tucking into a large pile of sandwiches.
"Here, try this," Archie said, pushing a sandwich into Tilly's hand,
"Oh, thank you."
Tilly looked at the sandwich for a second before taking bite. It tasted just as good as Archie had promised, but that didn't stop her stomach from churning as she ate, nor did it stop her from feeling just a little bit sick. The food tasted lovely, but it wasn't worth the heighted nausea it caused.
"Are you going to eat that?" Frenchie asked after Tilly had just been staring at her sandwich for several minutes.
Tilly looked down at the sandwich, then held it out to Frenchie, "You can have it," she said as she got to her feet and stepped back from the table, "I need some fresh air."
Tilly burst out on to the deck and hurried over to the edge of the ship. She gripped the railings tightly as she hung her head over the side. She took a few shaky breaths then promptly threw up into the water.
She let out a groan. Ever since she'd found out she was pregnant she hadn't been able to keep any food down and it was starting to get on her nerves. She missed eating food without it doing a number on her stomach. She missed being able to go a day without being sick.
Tilly threw up again then slumped down on to the floor. The ever-present feeling of nausea was still there but she was pretty sure she wasn't going to be sick again.
"How are you feeling?"
Tilly looked up to see Stede standing over her, holding out a glass of water.
Tilly took the glass and drank gratefully, "Thanks. I'm alright, just a bit of seasickness," she lied.
Stede nodded sympathetically, "Well, hopefully it'll go away in just a few days,"
Tilly smiled at Stede; she doubted her sickness would go away in just a few days, but she didn't quite feel comfortable telling Stede the true cause of it.
Stede offered Tilly a hand and pulled her up, "It's starting to get late. I can find you something to sleep in if you want?" he offered,
"That would be nice," Tilly accepted.
Tilly followed Stede towards the Captain's quarters, past the rest of the crew, all of whom starting to get ready for bed. Stede opened the door and lead her inside, to reveal Ed, already there, lounging across the sofa.
"Just wait here and I'll find you a night shirt," Stede said as he pulled on a mannequin, causing a secret door to spring open.
Tilly raised her eyebrow. That must be the auxiliary wardrobe Archie and Jim had told her about.
"You left dinner in a hurry," Ed said,
"Yeah, I wasn't feeling well."
"Here's one!" Stede cried, emerging from the auxiliary wardrobe, holding up a long, frilly shirt,
"Thank you, is there anywhere I can get changed?" Tilly asked,
"You can get changed in the bathroom while I make up the bed," Stede said,
"Oh no, I couldn't possibly take your bed," Tilly objected, "I'll be fine sleeping on deck with the crew,"
"Nonsense," Stede said, "I can't let a pregnant lady sleep on the hard floor, besides, if you stay in here, you'll have easy access to the en suite should you need it."
Tilly stared at Stede in shock, "You know I'm pregnant?" She cried before turning to look at Ed, "Did you tell him?"
Ed just shrugged, "Don't look at me, I didn't say anything,"
"Oh, nobody told me, just pregnancy has some very obvious symptoms. When Mary was pregnant with Alma, she couldn't eat anything but turnips for weeks,"
"Oh," Tilly said weakly,
"So, you'll take the bed then?"
Tilly glanced at the bed and bit her lip, the idea of sleeping on a soft bed instead of the wooden planks of the deck sounded so appealing, "Where will you sleep?" She asked,
"Oh, I'm sure Ed and I will survive sleeping on deck for a while."
Tilly shook her head, "I can't toss you out of your room as well as your bed,"
"We could take the couch," Ed suggested, "Would that be okay?"
Tilly frowned at the small couch Ed was still lying across, managing to take up all the room by himself, "Will you both fit on there?"
Ed grinned, "We'll manage."
Tilly nodded, "Okay then, I'll take the bed."
Stede clapped his hands together, "Excellent, I'll let you get changed."
Tilly made her way to the bathroom where she changed out of the clothes Jim and Archie had given her and into Stede's shirt.
"Is it safe to come out?" She called through the door.
Ed snorted, "You can come out," he replied.
Tilly poked her head around the door to see Ed and Stede curled up on the sofa. They didn't fit at all. Stede's legs were hanging off the edge and Ed was lying almost completely on top of Stede. Tilly wasn't sure how they'd be able to sleep like that but both of them had a happy smile on their face, so she let them be. She made her way over to the bed and crawled under the blanket Stede had laid out for her, "I'll see you in the morning," she said,
"Good night," Stede called before blowing out the candle that had been lighting the room, leaving them in darkness to sleep.
