Splintered Heart

Chapter One

Takes place in an AU where it's normal for men to get pregnant, but it's very rare. Don't expect the science of this to make sense I'm just writing it for fun and because I have mighty need for Sparrington mpreg, and when you can't find the fic you want you write it yourself c: I hope you enjoy the read <3

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It was only when his stomach had begun to round that James realized exactly what was happening to him. He had not even suspected it when the nausea began, soon followed by abnormal exhaustion. James was a busy man, with always some mission to do out at sea or some reports awaiting his revision and signature. His body had been giving him signs, loud and clear, from the very beginning. And James had ignored them all save for the most evident sign.

He was in his office at the fort, and alone, thank goodness. He had absentmindedly run a hand along his stomach as he slowly made progress through the reports and letters that had been placed in his care. But something was off. Instead of running along a smooth flat stomach, it's path was interrupted by a gentle curve. A curve that should not be there. His hand stopped in its tracks, and he pressed a little. The skin did not give as much as it would if he had simply let himself go a little, and James knew for a fact that he had not. Realization dawned on him, eyes widening as the concept was born in his mind.

It couldn't be. There was no way that he-

No, it shouldn't be, but it was.

No.

No, no, no, no!

Both hands went to his middle now, verifying what he was seeing and feeling. How had he not realized what was happening sooner? He was lucky to have made this discovery while his uniform still hid the evidence, although with it was clearly there to the touch.

James released a trembling breath.

This wasn't supposed to happen. He and Jack had been so careful and... No, that wasn't entirely true. They had been careful during Jack's turns, but not during his. They had assumed wrong, that if one of the two would ever become... this way, then it would be Jack, not him. And now here James was, unmarried and with a belly slowly rounding with the child of a pirate.

He paled as the possible outcomes to his predicament flashed before him. He would be hanged for this if word got out, or worse considering his rank and status in Port Royal.

He shuddered, and he hastily removed the hand from the swell, almost as if it had burned him. For the time being, he couldn't afford to act out of the ordinary, at least while he was at Fort Charles. He would entertain the thought of what awaited him now that he was conscious of his... newfound problem. All he could do now was to focus exclusively on his work and be done with it. Then he would be able to go home and properly deal with this. Think of his next move where he was truly alone and safe.

Good grief. Him. Commodore James Norrington, with child.

...

It took him longer to reach the privacy of his own quarters than he had anticipated. After his discovery, it had been quite the effort to concentrate on his work. His mind would almost insist on drifting away towards thoughts of his condition, but James pressed on. By the time he was finished with his tasks, it had taken him double the usual time he would have taken to finish. In all his years of service, James had never been so glad to be done for the day. He pushed the paperwork to one side, and promptly left, slamming his office door behind him. He avoided any and all eye contact with his men, eager to leave the fort.

Although he imagined it was most probably a product of his own imagination, he could almost feel all eyes on him and on his stomach. He knew it wasn't visible. He hadn't even seen it himself for who knew how long, but now that he knew it was there he felt like it was on display for the world to see.

He rushed home, nearly breaking into a run. He could not get there sooner, and as soon as he had passed through his front door, he was barking orders at his poor housekeeper. Eyes wide in surprise at this sudden behaviour from the Commodore, she hastily dashed about as she prepared a bath for him as instructed. As soon as it was ready, James gave the poor woman leave for the night and shut himself away in his rooms.

With quaking hands, he peeled away each layer of clothing slowly until his entire uniform was lying unceremoniously on the floor. James wasn't sure that he was ready to face this, but even if ignored this problem would only continue to grow. He had touched the bump, felt it's telltale hardness, but now he would see it in all it's awful splendor.

James stepped towards his mirror, now with no clothes to hinder his view, with his eyes closed. He took a deep breath, both to prepare and to calm himself, and opened his eyes. And there it was. How had he bloody missed it all this time? With no clothing in the way, it was evident. Terribly evident.

He, James Norrington, was unmistakably pregnant.

How far along could he be? It was hard to tell by the size of the bump, but no doubt that soon he would not be able to hide it any longer. He looked down, a hesitant hand was placed on the underside of the rounded swell, holding it with more care than he had expected to show. It was still early to feel anything, but there, settled into the curve of his palm, was his child.

"Good lord..." James muttered, his thumb tracing a small circle on the tight skin, his breath failing him as he finally allowed the reality of the situation to sink in.

This was bad. This was very, very, very bad. This was so bad Jack would be proud of how badly James had messed up. Oh. Jack. They had both messed up. That's right, this wasn't just his problem, it was also Jack's, but how was he even supposed to tell him? The way their odd relationship worked consisted of the pirate climbing into James' quarters once every few months, then they'd bugger each other senseless (as Jack would so eloquently put it) before Jack would be off on his merry way again.

It was a purely physical relationship, no feelings mixed in between. They held a certain affection for each other, yes, but adding a child to the mix seemed like a terrible idea, and yet, what else was James supposed to do? There was no safe way for him to be rid of it without anyone else knowing, and he could not under any circumstances risk word getting out about this.

"You are never touching me again, Sparrow." James muttered to himself as he climbed into the bath, letting himself sink into the warm water. No, he couldn't get rid of it even if he did have a safe way to do so. It wasn't this child's fault that it was saddled with both him and Jack as it's parents. It - He or she didn't deserve such a fate. They had created this child, and now James had to take responsibility.

A decision was made in his mind at that moment,and he placed his hand on his middle again.

"I will care for you, little one. I... I don't know how yet, but I will." He whispered, feeling a little foolish for speaking to his stomach, but he needed to say it out loud in order to be able to fully commit to this. To being a parent. Oh, lord, he was going to be a father.

This was a far cry from what he had envisioned for himself, as he had always thought it would be a wife that would bear his children, but it was a future he accepted.

James allowed himself to sink below the water, his mind feeling like it was about to burst from assimilating this news and it's consequences. And the thinking had only begun. He had yet to map out a plan of action. He couldn't stay in Port Royal, at least not during the pregnancy, but appearing out of the blue with a baby in tow would still be quite the scandal. Maybe after some sleep he would see things more clearly.

When his head poked out of the water again, gasping for breath, his gaze caught sight of some movement coming from the window. He started in surprise when a familiar figure clambered into the room, with as much grace as he could manage, which was none at all.

"Ah, Jim, straight to business tonight then, aye?" The intruder said, an impish grin on his features.

Oh, fantastic.