Chapter One
Memories
You asked for it, now here it is! No pretense is needed. If you haven't read Growing Up or A New Beginning, please read that first.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but Melissa, Kate, and any other OCs I mention.
All I ask for is that you enjoy this story!
"You don't remember, do you?"
Melissa Lewes sipped a cup of coffee from a navy blue mug as she sat next to Jack. The house was sticky due to an unusually humid and warm morning, one that reminded him so strongly of the Caribbean. The windows were now closed. The gentle humming of the air conditioning could faintly be heard.
As Melissa looked at him, waiting for a response, Jack Sparrow couldn't name what it was he was supposed to remember. Did it have something to do with Amy? No...wait, was he supposed to go somewhere today?
Now he felt like a fool.
"O' course!" he fibbed, chuckling. "O' course I remember."
Melissa had her feet propped up on the coffee table. Her pajama shorts revealed legs that had been slimmed and toned from running. He was surprised at how hard she was working and determined to lose the weight she gained before giving birth to Amy.
Not that Jack had minded at all about the clothing. Summer was now here, and after a long winter, fall, and spring, Jack was more than ready to see her shed some layers.
"Really."
It was more of a statement, as if Melissa was unconvinced that he remembered, which Jack was sure that she was.
"What are you supposed to remember?"
Oh, bugger. Now she was going to start asking more questions. She always was an inquisitive thing.
"It's June 1," she hinted.
Double bugger.
"One year ago today we met," she said.
It couldn't be one year, could it? Looking at Melissa, she was the same girl, only a bit...enhanced in certain aspects. The days where he could tease her about being flat chested were temporarily gone, thanks to Amy. Her personality had also changed. Twelve months ago, she was a naïve, innocent eighteen-year-old who looked at the world through rose-colored glasses. Now the nineteen-year-old saw things for what they were and managed to remain a sweet person.
Most of the time.
"I knew that!" Jack said.
Jack wondered why dates were so important to women. Why did most throw a fit if they didn't remember birthdays or certain anniversaries?
Melissa laughed. "I'm sure you did, pirate."
Pirate. She hadn't called him that for a while.
"A year ago to the minute."
He looked at the clock. It read 7:45. How on earth did she remember the minute?
"I think back at how my life has changed because of you," she said.
"Don't act like it's a death sentence, love," he joked, noting her serious tone.
"This is important, Jack!" she said, her blue eyes smiling. "Without you, we never would have had Amy."
Jack looked at Amy, who was in her swing next to Melissa. Her brown eyes were wide, looking at her parents, who were conversing.
"Ah, yes," Jack grinned. "The Sea Turtle."
Melissa smiled, too, and looked at their daughter. "Hard to believe that out of anyone I've met, you've given me my biggest blessing."
Kate Turner woke up that morning with her head on her husband's chest. She felt a hand of his on the small of her back, holding her close. Kate could hear the beating of his heart.
She had waited to mentally celebrate the one year anniversary of her and Will's first encounter for days. Now it was here.
She found it hard to believe she had known this man for but a year's time. It seemed like they had known each other for ten years, instead of only one.
In a way, they had.
"Good morning," she murmured, laying a soft kiss on his chest.
Kate had no other desire than to lay in Will's arms all day. The world could wait.
"Good morning, my love," he said softly.
My love. She had always been his one and only love.
"One year ago today we first met."
Will smiled. She couldn't help but fall more in love each time he smiled at her. "How could I forget, Mrs. Turner?"
Even nine months after their wedding, a smile came upon her face each time that he called her that.
"I love you," she whispered into his ear.
He ran a hand through her chocolate brown hair. "I could say that, my words don't do justice."
She placed her lips so close to his they were barely touching. "Then show me."
Jack reached into the freezer and pulled out a frozen pizza that evening for dinner. He preheated the oven and began to remove the wrapping.
"Into the Night" was playing on the radio. After all the times that Melissa had made Jack listen to it all theme months, it was safe to say that he was throughly sick of the song. It seemed that Melissa wasn't.
"A-yo-a-yo-a-yo-a," Melissa sang, putting the now empty baby bottle by the sink while carrying Amy. Melissa had just finished feeding her. "What's for dinner?" she asked, leaning against the counter.
"Pizza. I do believe ya burned this doughy, tomatoey thing last year fer th' first dinner."
"You remember," she said, somewhat surprised.
"O' course I do. I remember that was th' day I realized that you could not cook."
She glared at him. "Count yourself lucky I don't have Amy in my hands."
He would.
Kate picked up a blue notebook of her's that evening to start making a list of what to bring to Jack and Melissa's house. It was a habit of her's – she knew that she would otherwise forget.
They would be leaving June 12 for a few days to see how Amy had grown from the days-old girl they had seen in March, as well as for Father's Day. Both planned to see their parents, and at the Sims household, it would be a Mother's Day celebration, as well. Kate was excited to see her parents again, as well as Bootstrap. She was sure that Will was excited to see his father, as well.
Flipping through the notebook to find a blank page, she saw ten names on a list in two different columns. She recognized these. She looked up at Will, who was sitting next to her.
"Will!" Kate said. "Look!"
Will looked away from 60 Minutes to see what Kate held in her hands.
"William, Ethan, Caleb, Noah, Jacob...Abigail, Olivia, Hannah, Hailey, Emily..." he said to himself. He looked at Kate and smiled. "How did you find these?"
"It was luck. I was just looking for a piece of paper."
She remembered that they had made these one summer night when they were engaged and had Willy – Baby Think it Over. That was the night she realized that she found out that she wanted children sooner than she had planned with Will.
"If we had to choose right now," Kate said, pointing to the list, "what name would you choose for a boy and a girl?"
"Ah," he smirked. "I would choose William for a boy after his grandfather, and for a girl, Emily. What about you?
She over the list. "William, without a doubt. After his father, of course."
He smirked. Their views of who he would be named after differed.
"And for a girl, Abigail."
Kate began to want what Melissa had. She began to yearn for a child, much like Will had wanted in the beginning of their engagement. Had her job not called her every which way, she might have conceived already.
One day, she thought silently.
Fluffy beginning. Next chapter has a Lord Cutler Beckett in it...
Beckett: It's Doctor! Doctor Beckett! I didn't go to school for four years to be called a bloody Lord!
Me: You should be grateful you're in this. I can write you out as easily as I wrote you in!