Harry & the Pirate Fanart by ladymouse2 - Squee!! - and my ficl

[dwgm]

My dear friend ladymouse2 told me some time ago she was creating a piece of Harry & the Pirate fanart and it's finally finished and it's beautiful. And I had to write a ficlet to go with it, of course! Many thanks to hereswith for beta reading this at short notice.




~ Home ~


The wind had died at seven bells in the morning watch* – “Seven bells! A good omen!” said Gibbs. Jack had just rolled his eyes and ordered out the sweeps, he’d be damned if he’d wait an extra minute to reach St. Claire when they were this close. His crew was all sly chuckles and obliging alacrity, knowing precisely why their captain was so anxious to reach this particular spot of dry land after two months at sea.

They arrived unheralded, in the gray light of pre-dawn, skimming over the glassy water and dropping anchor in Pearl’s Rest. The secluded cove had been named for his darling ship by the owner of the isle, Lady Henrietta Fanshawe, Dowager Duchess of Wyndham and scapegrace sister to the Governor of Port Royal. Nearly five years ago it was, five of the happiest – and most harrowing – years of Jack’s life. There were good reasons Jack had always insisted (mostly to a plethora of females) that he wasn’t the marrying kind, but reason had flown out the window when Harry Fanshawe had appeared on his horizon.

Jack left Gibbs and the crew to secure the Pearl and immediately set out to find his other best girl. He found himself grinning like a fool as he walked along. Harry was probably still abed at this hour, muzzy with sleep, arms warm and ready to welcome him. As pleasant as it was, treading the well-tended path through the tropical forest in the cool morning air, birds setting up a cheerful din, flowers glowing in the shadows, he hurried along toward Island House, Harry’s home and his, too, he supposed, though the siren song of the sea and his Black Pearl was ever with him.

There were a few early risers that greeted him on the outskirts of the plantation, but he silently and successfully implored their silence and entered house quiet as a cat – to no avail, for there was Rachel, their housekeeper and friend, coming into the foyer as he closed the door.

“Ca—!“ she began, but then picked up on Jack’s animated imprecation. She nodded, her grin very white in her dark face, but she said, quietly, “Oh, she’ll be surprised all right. But she’s not abed, she’s in the garden out back, wanted to get some flowers for the breakfast table before the bees woke up.”

Jack, only a little disappointed, grinned back and gave Rachel a grateful bow before heading down the hall to the sitting room that let out to Harry’s garden.

The door to the room was open, and across the room he could see that the bright red door to the garden was, too, and that the Chinese lion-head knocker he’d brought her last time had now been installed upon it. And before he had time to do more than walk in, there were the sounds of light steps, her sweet voice humming, and a swish of muslin skirts as she entered.

“Boo!” he said, loudly.

She gave a screech and dropped her basket, French lavender scattering. “Jack! Jack!”

*

It wasn’t long at all before they were interrupted. A thumping as of a herd of small elephants came to their ears and then a whirlwind rushed through the hall door, shouting, “Da! Rachel said you were here!” Jack’s beloved scamp of a son (and the reason he and Harry been blessed with a mariage rather than a continuance of the delightfully clandestine affaire they’d embarked upon barely a week after meeting), barreled across the room.

Harry, curled close and contented on Jack’s lap, laughed as Tom threw his arms around them both, and Jack set a fond hand to the crown of his son’s hat, the really big one he’d brought him almost a year before and that the boy had, to Jack’s astonishment, suddenly grown into.

He was truly home.

~.~



* Seven bells in the morning watch is 3:30 A.M. Here’s a link to a site explaining about ships’ bells and watches.



Thank you, again, ladymouse2 -- I love it!

Comments

[sharklady35.livejournal.com]

Awww, that's such a beautifully done bit of fluff!

(The above applies to both story and illo.)

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much, and on ladymouse2's behalf as well, she is such a wonderful artist I couldn't help but be inspired!

[pearlseed.livejournal.com]

Awww, both of you go to the head of the class--I started tearing up when I saw the wee bit of the picture and then it's been full on teary sniffles in the reading. Of the good kind, you know, and this is just fine as rice pudding (with a small indulgence of drambuie on the side mind). Sweets never out of style with me an OHEP (original happy ending piratista) LOL and loving them both, words and art! Yea team.

[luvvycat.livejournal.com]

Wow! Gorgeous fanart by Ladymouse, and a truly gorgeous fic to go with it! You know how much I love your Jack/Harry fics, and this is just the perfect marriage of visual and written art, by two masters of their creative craft (IMHO)! :-)

There were good reasons Jack had always insisted (mostly to a plethora of females) that he wasn’t the marrying kind, but reason had flown out the window when Harry Fanshawe had appeared on his horizon.

Love this bit! That IS the way love works, isn't it? To paraphrase a Jack line in AWE, like Death, Love also has a curious way of reshuffling one’s priorities. ;-)

Kudos and accolades to you both! Such a wonderful treat you've provided for those of us who love this AU, and the cosy little "home port" (and loving partner and family) you've given him to come back to!

-- Cat

[layah.livejournal.com]

Aww, cute. I love the picture. Especially Tom's really big hat :-)

[djarum99.livejournal.com]

What a lovely piece - just what I needed tonight. And ladymouse2's artwork is fantastic! Brava ♥

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! It's still a wonder to me that so many readers have enjoyed these stories of mine, and to have inspired such a lovely piece of fanart is amazing!

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

like Death, Love also has a curious way of reshuffling one’s priorities.

Very true. Thank you for your kind words, they are so much appreciated. It's so amazing to me that my AU is still enjoyed by so many, even after being so thoroughly "jossed" by DMC and AWE.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

I love the hat, too, and the door knocker is the same one I have on my own front door. ladymouse2 is amazing!

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

I think we all need a little sweetness and light, occasionally, and the Harry & the Pirate stories are certainly replete with same. *g* So very glad you enjoyed the story, I couldn't help but be inspired by the pic.

Oooh! Nice new icon!!

[ladymouse2.livejournal.com]

Oh, my goodness! I'm honored you wrote a fic to go with the art! Heh, we came full circle since I was inspired by your stories in that universe in the first place. And it's full of the little touches that make that universe so dear.

I'm also thrilled you immediately zeroed in on the circumstances I tried to hint at: early morning, his unheralded surprise arrival with her coming from the garden with flowers--you even noted it was French lavender!- and dropping her basket to land on his lap and little Tom scurrying in with glee.

Thank you so much and I'm so glad you like it. Sorry it took so long to get done.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

I'm also thrilled you immediately zeroed in on the circumstances I tried to hint at

It was quite obvious to me what had happened when I had a chance to study it a bit, and I was even wondering if you remembered that I have a lion head door knocker on my own front door here at home -- I think I must have posted it on LJ at one time. Anyway, the picture was most inspirational, I love it! Thank you soooooooo much!!!

*Big Hugs*