List of Love continued

[soleilpirate]

Title: The List of Love
Author: Soleil Compeau
Fandom: Pirates of the Caribbean
Rating: We'll say R for now, and see how it goes
Characters/Pairings: Jack/OFC, mentions of previous, various Jack/OFCs, implied Jack/Elizabeth UST
Summary: Sarah asks Jack about his past women. Jack answers her.


previous Sarah had given him a second chance. Given him back all the things that were stolen from him when he was branded. For that, she was doubly precious. continued

 

It was two, maybe three nights later that Sarah shook him awake. He stared stupidly at her face, knotted in a fearful, pained expression, before he realized the significance. Jack stayed with her until the doctor chased him away, whereas he complained vociferously to Gibbs and Elizabeth. Secretly he was rather relieved though. He'd faced many terrifying things in his day, but a babe emerging from a wench's belly truly scared him bloodless.

It was a busy day, but that night they lay in the silence of their bed, late in the night. The newborn with the unlikely name of John Teague lay between them, awake. He did not cry, but squirmed, waved tiny arms in the air, ran his hands over his own face, and made soft sounds like a kitten. Jack extended his forefinger and stroked the incredible tender softness of the tiny face. He was startled when his child reflexively turned his head, little mouth open and seeking.

"Why's he doing that!"

Sarah laughed softly. "Think he wants to nurse, sweetheart."

"Oh." Disgruntled a bit, "Don't know a thing about that. Never seen anything like this. Never done this before."

She grabbed a waving hand and laced her fingers with his. "You'll do fine Jack. Just relax."

"Treasures like this....never had it. Gold and jewels, that's bright and hard and shiny. You and...and this little fellow, well, you're real and warm and I don't half know what to do with you!" Jack's voice expessed all his conflicting emotions of love and bewilderment and the plain honest fear of a brand new father. And the uncertainty of a pirate who is not at all sure he can reconcile marriage and parenthood and happiness with ruthlessness and theft and thirst and the sway of the sea.

"Just do what you've been doing. Love us both, with all your fierce heart. It's all we need." Sarah's voice was slow and drowsy.

He gazed a moment at her, idly playing with his rings with a little smile on her sleepy face. She'd had a nap shortly after givig birth, but was still no doubt tired. "Why do you have more rings than I do?" she asked now with a teasing grin.

"You want more? I'll get you as many as you like." Stroked her hair back off her face. "Diamonds, pearls, rubies. One for each finger, and each toe too. Maybe I'll get you a ring through your nose, even!" He tweaked said appendage, just to hear her giggle.

Sarah remained preoccupied with his jewelled fingers. "I know where this one came from," she rubbed her knuckle with the large purple ring he'd slid onto her finger a few months ago, "and I know you took this one from a captain's wife of a ship you plundered after you became Lord of the Caribbean," touching another.

Grinning, he recalled the time he'd told her stories about his trinkets. She'd been aboard the Pearl two days, and he determined that if she was there, she might as well make herself useful, and set Gibbs to teach her the rudiments of sailing. He himself supplemented those lessons whenever he had time. That particular day, he'd been explaining things about navigating, pointing to various positions on the charts and demonstrating with the sextant. He glanced at her to see her eyes dreamy, staring at his hands, which he immediately stilled.

"You're not listening." To which she startled, and to his delight, blushed. With a delighted chuckle, he asked her, "Are my lessons too difficult? Or is there something else on your pretty little mind?"

"Oh...well...I was just looking at your rings, actually." And she pointed to the emerald and skull ring.

Jack held out his hands for her perusal, and as she touched each one, he'd told her the adventure accompanying his acquiring of it. The feel of her curious hands on his had caused him to break out in gooseflesh all over, and he'd been hard pressed to keep his voice nonchalant. Mostly, he was touched with avarice, lust, or violence. A truly innocent and frank caress nearly undid him. It was later that night that he first stroked himself over a fantasy of her, and those hands touching intimate parts of himself in the same curious, discovering way.

"And this one came from the Spanish widow, yes?" She said now, bringing him back to the present.

"Aye. Dowager Duchess Serafina Ramirez." Jack glanced down and saw that the infant John, or Teague as Sarah had been murmuring to him every time she held him, was staring very sleepily at him. "The lady who brought the pirate out in me." He touched the tiny hand, marveling that his dwarfed the little one so completely. Little Teague grasped his father's forefinger, making Jack's chest feel a few sizes too small.

"Oh did she now?" Sarah lilted, reaching out to poke teasingly at his neck. Jack sucked in his breath. A few days without being able to bed her had made him hungry. A suddenly slim wife was alluring him unknowingly, but he knew it would be days before she would be ready for anything. Somewhat desperately he wondered just how many days it would be. The memory of thinking of those hands on him, and the knowledge of exactly how those hands felt...

Trying to distract himself, Jack remarked, "Ah yes. Serafina..well she had a taste for...badness. She liked me to be in control." Oblique glance. "Well, it helped me to truly step away from the world I'd left and embrace the one I'd..well left behind, really. She reminded me that I was a pirate's son, and did I really think I could walk away from that?"

Sarah nodded thoughtfully. "She helped you get over Eleanor too, didn't she?"

He hadn't wanted to think of that again. He returned to more pleasant thoughts of when he could bed his wife again. "Oh aye. She did indeed."

"What about Elizabeth then, Jack?" The question derailed him most effectively.

"What, exactly, about Elizabeth, luv?" he replied cautiously. 

to be continued...



continuation
 

 

Comments

[madam-pudifoot.livejournal.com]

I'll say this one more time, Mmmmm Jack's hands. *swoons*

That being said: Jack is such a cute daddy. I do love how amazed he is by it all - tiny hands and all. Very, very sweet. You do a fine job at making the characters real, giving them families , but still out chasing treasure and adventure. Er, but that's for your other fics, really.

Poor Jack's going to be disappointed, as it might be more than a few days for that. =P Best not cause him any distress yet though.

Am looking forward to what he has to say about Lizzie - thought it was only a fleeting fancy in your verse.

[soleilpirate.livejournal.com]

Jack's hands, mmmm yeah. Seconded hon! Jack is a great daddy, but just now, along with being enchated he's also rather terrified! As to the few days, mm yeah. Only Captain Sparrow could be a charming jerk thinking about sex the day his woman gives birth. :-P

The question about Lizzie will cause some distress, I'm afraid. But only a little!

[mary684.livejournal.com]

Does anyone dare tell him it's gonna be more like weeks? *g*

Loves me wee Teague, what a charmer, like his da, already grasping Jack's heart along with his finger. I love the image of Jack wantiing/but not really wanting to hang around for the entire birth process, I've a sneaking suspicion he was glad the doc finally drove him off. 'Scared bloodless' bout says it all. (something utterly charming about Captain Jack Sparrow being terrified of childbirth)

As for Jack's hands, I'll add my GUH to the general consensus.

[soleilpirate.livejournal.com]

It may be weeks until Sarah is ready, but she may be persuaded to do something nice for Jack before that. *g* Of course baby Teague is a charmer! And of course Jack is terrified of childbirth; he'd be no good at it. *chuckles*

Thanks for the comment darling! And along with Jack's hands, I'll GUH over his legs, his chest, his eyes, mmmmm.

[pearlseed.livejournal.com]

Still sweet, nothing wrong with baby's birthing--your Sarah sounds a right Tarter--pretty how you addressed Jack's self-love in thought of her. Nice look back at his checkered past.

[soleilpirate.livejournal.com]

Thanks pearlseed, I'm glad you are enjoying it! I'm exploring a very sweet time in their lives, but Jack remains unchanged; a pirate, a romantic soul, a bumbler. Bless him.

Nothing at all wrong with birthing, and Jack does manage in this 'verse to see at least one of his children born. Jack and self love...ahh, truly a guilty pleasure of mine.

What's a Tarter?

[pearlseed.livejournal.com]

Think Ghengis Khan--nomadic bad-ass horse instead of Harley "bikers"--my daddy told me they were so tough that they would slaughter an animal in the early a.m.--throw the raw meat under the saddle of their mounts, ride all day and then consume the semi-jerky (seasoned by salt sweat of horse). Always thought that meant some baddddd conquering kind of trouble on a horse. Good fighters, totally dedicated. They basically were troops for that faction. I may not be spelling correctly of course...

[soleilpirate.livejournal.com]

Ah yes! She is that, indeed, down to the horse even! Dunno about the meat and semi-jerky though, Sarah is more of a gourmand than that.

[djarum99.livejournal.com]

I'll add an "mmmmm" for the hands, of course :-) Love Jack as a new daddy, and the stories of his rings.

mary684 is right about the "weeks" rather than "days," I'm afraid - poor Jack ;-)

Lovely work ♥

[soleilpirate.livejournal.com]

Every part of Jack deserves an 'mmmm.' I love that his hands are the first part Sarah was openly attracted to. And oh yes, he'd be an enchanted, enchanting new daddy.

No one is willing to tell Jack it's gonna be a while for him. lol Thanks for the comment darlin! Glad you enjoyed!