Unforgivable

More BIG THANK YOU'S from me to you for the great reviews!!! Here's another chapter with more emphasis on plot than smut!!

Hope you enjoy!!!!

The night crawled past with agonising slowness. Elizabeth lay face down on Jack’s bunk, too miserable even to cry. She breathed in his scent on the bed linen, clutching the crumpled sheet in her fists as her mind played over the day’s events in a never-ending circle.

There’d been no clue, no hint of any problems between them. He’d roused her from sleep with soft kisses along her throat and deft fingers playing between her thighs, his lips brushing against her ear as he whispered his need to take her once more. He’d bought her from drowsy pleasure to shuddering bliss with practised ease, her body a willing slave to his ministrations. When he withdrew she reached down to hold him and share his release, to feel him pulse and jerk in her hand as he shot liquid fire across her belly.

Afterwards he’d gone to attend to his ship, leaving her with tender kisses and the memory of his pleasure still warm on her skin.

There’d been no time for more than a few stolen touches after that. Not long after eating her evening meal she’d begun to feel a restless churning in her stomach and had crept away to the cabin, hoping that sleep would solve the problem. For a while it had, then in the hours before dawn nausea had risen again until she could fight it no longer, necessitating an urgent dash for the rail.

Jack had not stirred when she returned, shaky but feeling a little better, and she’d crawled over him and fallen into an exhausted sleep. When she surfaced again the sun was high and he was gone.

The next sight she’d had of him was as a pathetically drunken heap slumped on the dirty wet floor of the hold.


By dawn all she had gained was a thudding headache and the knowledge that she had to confront him. As she heaved herself upright her stomach cramped painfully and she winced.

“Perfect!” she muttered to the empty cabin. “Exactly what I need right now, on top of everything else!”

Elizabeth took her time getting dressed. She felt ill-prepared for Jack’s inevitable side-stepping and double-talk today. She doubted very much that he would make this easy on her. The fact that he hadn’t confided in her in the first place was a hurt she didn’t have the strength to examine just now.

Hoping that his head was pounding at least as much as hers, she set off in search of her Captain.

She found Pintel first, deep in conversation with Ragetti. As she approached both men turned to greet her with unnerving cheerfulness.

“Mornin’ Miss!” Pintel beamed. “Sleep well, did ya?”

“You’re up early, Miss!” Ragetti added. Then with a sly glance at his companion, “An’ how’s our beloved Capt’n this morning, Miss?”

Pintel snorted with amusement.

Elizabeth had opened her mouth, not quite what sure what she meant to say, when a gruff shout from behind saved her the trouble.

“Back to work yer lazy dogs!”

She turned gratefully to Gibbs as the two sailors slouched away, and gave a tentative smile.

“How – er – where is he, Mr Gibbs?”

“Spent the night in the crew’s quarters. The men are…well, they’re wonderin’ why.”

“As am I, Mr Gibbs!” she sighed.

He gave her a quick, embarrassed glance.

“Not for me to say, Miss!” he muttered. “Yer’ll havta talk t’Jack yerself. Not my business.”

Elizabeth clenched her fists, fighting the urge to grab him by the shoulders and shake him until he told her what her knew.

“At least inform me where I might find him. So that I can talk to him…before he drinks himself insensible again!”

At this Gibbs could not repress a chuckle.

“Oh I don’t think the Captain’ll be wantin’ any rum this mornin’, Miss! ‘E’s not feeling too bright, I don’t think…”

“Good!”

She stared at him pointedly.

“Oh! Er….he’s in the galley Miss. Tryin’ to eat.”

She nodded, and took a deep breath.

“Very well. Thank you.”

As she turned away he stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

“Good luck, Miss. I’ll make sure yer not disturbed.”

Elizabeth paused outside the galley, Mr Gibb’s parting words having increased her apprehension tenfold. At first glance the room appeared to be empty. She sighed in disappointment and turned to go – then a faint moan followed by the unmistakable medley of trinkets clinking against each other stopped her in her tracks.

“Jack?”

“Mmmmmmm”

“Where are you?”

A beringed hand waved at her from behind one of the tables. She followed it and found its owner stretched full length along the bench, looking very much the worse for wear.
Any sympathy she may have felt was quickly overridden by the knowledge that his current condition was self inflicted.

“What on earth are you doing Captain Sparrow?”

He winced and bought his finger to his lips in a shushing gesture.

“It’s your own fault!” she continued, purposely raising her voice.

“Lizbeth…Lizzie….me darlin’ girl….please….shut…up!”

“I will not! We have to talk, Jack.”

“Not now. Not this loud!”

“Then when?”

He opened one eye, then hurriedly closed it again with a pained grimace.

“Later. In me cabin.”

Elizabeth glared at him for a moment, then shook her head in disgust.

“Fine! You have two hours Captain Sparrow…then I’ll expect some answers!”

As soon as she had gone, Jack swung himself upright with a great deal more agility than one would expect to see in a man with a debilitating hangover. He stared after her, his expression thoughtful.

“Aye, Miss Lizzie,” he murmured to himself. “And I’ll be expectin’ a few of me own….”

Elizabeth made a valiant attempt to immerse herself in her duties, trying in vain to push all thoughts of Jack from her head.. She felt unaccountably nervous as her feverish imagination unhelpfully concocted a dozen different reasons for his behaviour – none of which were good.

By the time Mr Gibbs appeared to inform her that the Captain wished to see her, she’d almost convinced herself that he’d had second thoughts about their relationship and meant to drop her at the next port now he’d had his fill of bedding her. The fact that he’d shown no signs of tiring of her up until now did not interfere with her reasoning at all.

She marched into his cabin expecting a fight – and was somewhat taken aback to find him lounging behind his desk, a welcoming smile on his face and a bottle of rum in his hand.

Jack waved her towards the other chair and waited until she was seated.

“So, Miss Swann. Something you wish to share? Is there some information regarding your current – er – situation, as it were, that you feel your Captain should be informed of?”

Elizabeth blinked at him.

“My situation? My situation is as it always was, Captain Sparrow! Will you please stop talking in riddles and tell me what is going through that befuddled head of yours?”

He sighed and pursed his lips. This was not going to be easy. He tried again.

“Lizzie. Elizabeth. Talk to me. Tell me the truth.”

“The truth about WHAT?”

“About..well…the thing that you have to tell me. The thing that we didn’t want to happen which I warned you might happen but it seems has happened anyway…and therefore must be discussed and dealt with.”

Elizabeth clutched at her temples, not sure whether to laugh, cry or scream.

“Jack!” she groaned, “Please!”

“Please what, Elizabeth?”

“Please tell me what on earth you are talking about!”

For a long moment he was silent, his gaze sweeping over her in a calculating manner that made her very uneasy.

“You really don’t know, do you?”

“No Jack! I really don’t!”

He sighed again and held out his hand.

“C’mere to me, luv!”

She obeyed and he drew her into his lap, the reassurance of his embrace immediately bringing her comfort.

He kept one arm around her back and rubbed his other hand gently across her stomach.

“Feels a bit swollen,” he informed her, and before she could respond his fingers slid upwards to cup her breast through her shirt. “Are ye sore here, luv? Tender, like? And yer fillin’ me hand a bit more than normal, I think…”

“Well yes, but that’s because I….”

“And how long have you been losin’ yer breakfast over the rail, Elizabeth?”

“How did you kno….”

“Mr Gibbs saw you, Lizzie. How long?”

“Jack please! What is this? What has me being unwell got to do with you getting ridiculously drunk?”

He kept his eyes on her face as his hand travelled back down to her belly.

“I was scared, luv!” he whispered softly. “I said yer weren’t ready for this but it was a lie….well not a lie exactly cos yer not, but it’s me who’s not ready…..”

“Ready for what?”

“For this!” his fingers tightened on her stomach and she winced slightly.

“Jack!” she pleaded, the fear in his voice feeding her own. “What do you mean? Ready for what? Just say it!”

But Jack found he could not, for saying it aloud would make it real, and he willed her to say it for him, to take the burden of reality and announce it for herself. The silence stretched between them, her eyes full of questions he was afraid to answer.

Finally he cleared his throat and began to speak.

“A few weeks ago, Lizzie, I had a most…satisfying dream. Best dream I remember havin’, truth be told….’bout a wicked lass usin’ her hands to bring me pleasure, then usin’ her body to bring me even more…..”

He winked at her and she felt her cheeks redden a little at the memory.

“…..an’ then I woke up to find it weren’t a dream after all, and there was this sinful wench astride me, riding me, and afore I could think or move it was too late. I spent inside her, instead of restrainin’ meself til it were safe.”

Elizabeth frowned, memories of that night – and the warnings he’d issued afterwards – flooding into her mind.

“Seems our luck didn’t hold, luv…” he continued gently, sensing her dawning realisation and bracing himself for the inevitable tears.

Her hand came down to cover his and he felt her body shaking in his arms.

“Oh Lizzie!” he sighed, and suddenly his own eyes felt suspiciously moist. He blinked rapidly, thinking what a tale it would be for the legendary Captain Jack Sparrow to be discovered in his cabin bawling like a baby.

It took all his courage to raise his head enough to look at her, to see her beautiful face awash with tears of despair.

It took several seconds for his bemused brain to register that the tears coursing down her cheeks were fuelled by barely-contained laughter, that her eyes were dancing with relief and her trembling was due to suppressed mirth, not grief.

He stared at her, looking so hopelessly lost that it was several minutes before Elizabeth was able to control herself enough to speak.

“Oh Jack!” she spluttered at last, “You silly, silly pirate! Is THAT what all this nonsense was about? Why on earth did you not just ask me? You think that I’m…you assumed I was….oh Jack!”

“You mean you’re not…. You are most positively, definitely, absolutely sure that you’re not….”

“No Jack. I am most positively, definitely, absolutely not carrying your child.”

He groaned then and pulled her to him, murmuring his relief and apologies against her lips until she pushed her tongue into his mouth and curled it around his to silence him.

His body responded automatically even as his brain was swiftly processing the emotions flooding through him. Relief, yes - overwhelming, giddy relief – but something else, something unexpected. Could it be – surely not? But yes, there it was. The faintest, fleeting twinge of regret, a sharp pang of disappointment that he’d not be spending the next months watching her belly grow fat and round. That she’d not be strutting around the deck with the result of his virility on display for all to see. That he’d not be seeing his lass with his child cradled in her arms, a visible and undeniable proof of their union.

Sensing his distraction Elizabeth broke away and studied his expression, trying to read his thoughts. When she saw the dampness clinging to his lower lashes she bit her lip and gently wiped his tears away, her heart aching with tenderness.

Jack lowered his gaze, pouting with embarrassment.

“Don’t worry!” she told him gently. “I won’t say a word! It’s our secret. Pirates don’t cr…”

“Wasn’t anyway!” he mumbled sulkily. “Was just – me eyes were just leakin’ a bit, is all!”

She smiled and snuggled into his arms, her fingers playing idly with the trinkets in his hair.

“Why does it frighten you so, Jack? Women have babies all the time….it can’t be that terrible, surely? You’ve faced much worse things than fatherhood and come out of them unscathed!”

The pause lasted so long that she began to think he wouldn’t answer. When he finally broke the silence his voice was low and faltering.

“Even afore I earned me brand I were an adventurous lad, luv. Curious, as it were. An’ me curiosity led me places I’d no business being.”

She smiled against his chest, thinking that nothing much had changed in that respect.

“One place it took me,” he continued, “Were into the house of a midwife – she were a kindly lass, not much older than meself but far wiser – an’ she’d let me run the odd errand in return for a shiny coin or a peek at – well never mind fer what else, tis enough to tell ye we had an arrangement, so to speak.”

“What happened?” she urged, not wanting to dwell further on the finer points of his ‘arrangement.’

“One night I were feeling – well, a little restless and – er – uncomfortable and I went to find her, hoping she might be agreeable to relieving me situation in a way that could prove satisfactory to us both.”

“I get the picture, Jack!” she groaned. “Now get to the point!”

“She weren’t alone when I found her. She was tendin’ to a young lass – no more than a child.”

Elizabeth raised her head to look at him, the sadness in his tone filling her with apprehension.

“The poor wench was thrashin’ and wailin’ in a pool of ‘er own blood, Elizabeth. I saw it all. Her swollen belly heavin’ fit to burst, the blood pourin’ from her…the sounds she made when me friend pulled the child from her, screaming like she’d been split in two. And then the silence. Her eyes glazed and starin’ - her body broken an’ lifeless while the brat that had stolen her future mewled and wriggled atween her thighs.”

Jack closed his eyes to shut out the memory and felt her hand gently cup his cheek, her lips brush softly across his own.

“Oh Jack! That poor girl! You must have been terrified!”

He nodded.

“Put me right off the idea of beddin’ anyone for a while…..the thought that spillin’ me seed inside a lass could lead her to that..”

He shuddered, then opened his eyes and grinned.

“Soon found other ways to take me pleasure, mind…..”

She gave his dreads a gentle yank.

“Evidently! And it appears you’ve studied the subject in some depth over the years, Captain Sparrow!”

“Aye. And I will continue sharin’ me knowledge on said subject with you at every given opportunity, Miss Swann…”

He bent his head towards her then, claiming her mouth to demonstrate his intent with a thoroughness that left her breathless. When his hand began to wander, delving beneath the collar of her shirt to stroke and fondle her breast, she let the waves of pleasure wash over her for a long, delicious minute before she remembered and pushed him away.

“I can’t, Jack!” she told him regretfully.

“Can’t? Why?”

“Because I’m….Because I have my…” Elizabeth shrugged, knowing how ridiculous it was to feel embarrassed with this man who knew her body so intimately, but blushing all the same.

“Ah.” To her surprise he was grinning broadly, the news of her monthly inconvenience apparently a cause for celebration.


“Then, my darlin’ girl, you most assuredly can. As can I. Both of us. With no fear of any – er – repercussions.”

She wrinkled her nose, not convinced.

“Please, luv? There’ll be a little mess but we’re used to that. Opportune moments should not be wasted – should be seized on and enjoyed…savvy?”

She wriggled free from his grip and he pouted, dark eyes wide and pleading.

“I’ll think about it!”

“Will ye be open to some…persuasion?” he asked hopefully.

“Persuasion will be acceptable,” she agreed, walking away.

“That’ll be a yes, then!” he smirked, and she paused with her hand on the door.

“You are a very annoying man, Captain Sparrow!” she sighed.

“Aye luv. So I’ve been told. Lucky that me irresistible charm and pretty face keep ye comin’ back for more, isn’t it?”

“Lucky for you that I love you anyway!” she shot back.

And the infamous Captain Sparrow was left staring, open-mouthed, as she slipped away.