The Arts of Love and War

He entered the cottage as quietly as a man of his stature could. Jack was ever so slightly tipsy from his night out with Maximus but it wasn’t anything he couldn’t handle as if he were as sober as a preacher.

She heard him but she didn’t open her eyes. Breathing slowly, Bridgid listened as he came up the steps. She could hear him enter the bath, brush his teeth and do a few other necessary things. He came into the corner of their room without turning a light on then undressed and laid his clothes over the back of a chair. Clearing his throat as quietly as he could, Jack padded to his side of the bed. He lifted the edge of the covers and slipped in behind her.

A moment later he was molded up against her back. Her shoulders fit perfectly against his chest and the roundness of her hips seemed to suction against his groin. He draped and arm around her and she drew a deep breath.

"Jack." she whispered.

"Siren, are you well?"

"Yes, better, thank you. I’m …sorry if I was bitchy before. I just felt kind of crappy."

He pressed his lips to the back of her neck to mark it with a kiss.

"Bridgid, there is no need for apology." He paused, dropping his head so his brow touched her back. Jack let out a long sigh. There was something on his mind and it had everything to do with her mood earlier. "Siren, do you ever grow weary of me?"

His words tugged at her heart. How could he ask such a thing? She turned around, sliding through his arms so their eyes met. It was dark in their room but she could see the shape of his face. His eyes seemed to glisten, absorbing the moonlight that trickled through the curtains. She lowered her gaze, fixating on the fullness of his mouth. Closing her eyes she tilted her head up to kiss him. It was a tender touch of lips as she savored his attentive mouth. Slowly she broke from him.

"The day I tire of you will never come, Jack. I promise you that I will always be yours."

The corner of his lip twitched into a half smile. "I am not like other men, Siren. I have no use for modern contraptions and flying machines. I fear this takes away from …from your life."

She laughed a little. "Jack Aubrey, I’d love to fly to Aruba but sailing there is fun too. It just takes a little longer. That’s all." Leaning back, she reached and nipped a bit of his hair between her fingers. "Are you tired of me? Is that what this is all about?"

Jack’s face twisted. "What would bring you to this conclusion? I come home to you. Always to you Bridgid."

"Then you always leave again, always, Jack." The tone of her voice became terser.

"That is what sailors do!" he shot back. You knew that about me when we started this affair.

"We are settled here. You have no reason to go to sea without me. What wars there are, are not for you to fight." she huffed, exasperated. "Is that what I am to you?" An affair?

"You have gone to sea with your Marine duties in the past. Do you think I have approved of that?" Jack bristled. He did not mean to use the word affair in the way she interpreted it. Sometimes they had a language barrier and it sure messed things up once in a while.

"You knew this about me when we met nearly seven years ago. Has it bothered you for this long? Thanks for holding it back, Aubrey!"

He knew when she used his surname like that; he was in for a battle. "I do not want to fight with you."

"Pah!" she spat as she pushed herself out of their bed. She snatched up her robe and slipped it on, standing there long enough to pull her hair out of the back of it.

"Siren, come back to bed."

"Screw you, Jack."

There’s no way she’d cry. No way. Not in front of him at this point. In her strange little mind it would make her feel weak. Bridgid Morgan refused to be weak. She stopped out of the room, down the stairs and into the kitchen. Jack was hot on her tail. Calling to her and naked as the day he was born, he grabbed her arm just before she reached for a glass.

"Let go of me. I want a drink."

"Not now." He ordered in the same voice he used to command his men. "This needs to be sorted."

"No it doesn’t, Jack. It’s been building for some time." She jerked her arm from his grasp and reached for the glass. Glaring at him briefly, she looked away to fill it from the tap at the sink. Bridgid took a drink from the glass. She stood there trembling and the tremble brought on the tears she fought so hard to avoid.

"My God, what have I done to you?" He asked as he kept his distance. He wanted to hold her, to comfort her but he was not sure she’d let him just now.

"Nothing. You’ve done nothing. It’s me who’s in doubt."

Taking a step closer to her, he placed a hand on her shoulder. When she didn’t brush it away he moved closer to hold her. "Doubt? You just said you would never tire of me. Believe me I would do anything for you, Siren. Tell me what brought on this doubt."

She sobbed then turned to bury her face in his chest. Jack held her tight. He was confused and worried at the same time. He lifted her chin and shushed her. Brushing a tear from her cheek he looked into her eyes. "You have never found it difficult to talk to me before this. Why now?"

Raising her hand she wiped her eyes dry. "I am confused." she admitted. "Confused because I have feelings that I’ve never had before."

What he said in reply came very fast, as if he’d know all along but he feared saying it. "You want to be my wife."

Her reply came back just as fast. "I want to have children." A gasp came from her as she was in near disbelief to what came out of her own mouth. "..But I know we said we’d never…I mean it’s probably just a passing thing, something to do with my biological clock. I’m so sorry, Jack. I don’t understand myself."

His silence frightened her. Had she ruined the best thing she’d ever had with this flighty confession?

"I understand." His voice was low and calm but was it the calm before the storm? Were they in the eye wall? "Bridgid, I never saw you as one to be chained to vows, documents and children. It is why the subject never came up between us. Believe me I am aware of my inadequacies."

Slipping from his arms, she stood back to look at him. Her eyes traveled from the tip of his toes to the top of his head taking in his entire naked splendor. He was completely uninhibited about it, standing there the same way he would if he were in full uniform.

"Inadequacies? Jack you are not inadequate in any way shape or form. Maybe we’re both hedonistic. Maybe it’s me who is inadequate.

Their eyes were locked on one another's and neither backed down. Not until his softened and he shook his head. "No, you are everything I have ever wanted in a woman. I was just unaware of it in the past. You are crass, overbearing, demanding and the most beautiful creature on earth. When and if we have children I should expect them to take after you." The corner of his mouth twitched again and he showered her that cockeyed smile that belonged to her alone.

"Good lord, that’s reason enough to perish the thought." Bridgid managed to smile back at him. It didn’t mean that everything was alright, not just yet anyway but it did mean there would be a truce for the time being.

"Shall we return to our bed, Siren? I have something planned for us in the morning. It is a surprise."

She opened her robe and stepped into him, melding her body to his. "A surprise, huh? I won’t be expecting a trip to the vicar, Jack so rest easy."

He slipped his arms around her waist then bent down to kiss her brow. "We never know what the future holds, my love but tomorrow will not see us at church. Tonight, though I am going to make love to you." He moved to lift her into his arms but she stopped him.

"Oh no you don’t. We’re both getting older as indicated by my tick tick ticking biological clock. Since you have your work cut out for you tonight, I don’t want you hurting yourself."

He gave her that look again before he swept her off her feet.