Stowaways

By Bite16

Paring: J/W, Implied Mul/Mur, N/G/G

Rating: NC-17 Eventually

Will watch and waited till all of Captain Brightens crew had left the ship for Tortuga. He had decided that they would get nowhere trying to escape in the middle of the ocean. Even though Tortuga was a pirate port, they had a better chance of surviving there than on this ship. Grabbing a loose board Will placed it under the brig door, which was identical to the ones that he had freed Jack from less than a year ago in Port Royal. Captain Brightens had told them that they were going to be sold as slaves in Singapore when they set sail again; this is what spurred Will to escape despite his injuries.

"Murtogg, Mullroy, I'm going to lift the door, you two gently guide the door to the ground. So it doesn't make a lot of noise." Will said looking at the two Navy men who were not as badly injured as the rest of them. Will slowly lifted the door, while they guided to the floor. Once the door was on the ground they stepped over it to get to the other side of the ship where the cannons were. Murtogg undid the chain holding the cannon in place and with Mullroy's help the slowly and gently move the cannons back as Groves opened the small wood door.

"I don't know if James can swim in his condition." Gillette argued looking out over the ocean and scowling when he turned to William Turner.

"Do we have a choice?" Will said deadpan. "Do you want to be sold as a slave, Lt. Gillette?" Will said turning to look at the officer.

"No." Lt. Gillette said looking at Groves for support, which he didn't get.

"Then we put him on my back. I can carry him." Will said.

"Fine" Lt. Gillette said the gridded teeth realizing he wasn't going to get support from any of his fellow officers or men.

"Will" Murtogg said excitedly turned Will to look out over the waves and pointing frantically to a ship that was solid black with black sails that was not too far away. "It's the Black Pearl! We're saved!"

"Shhh! Maybe… if Jack hasn't been marooned, again, but it's our only hope. We would be dead if I try to take Navy men into Tortuga." Will said shaking his head and smirking at the memory of his first time in the pirate port with Jack. Defiantly not a place for gentlemen, especially Naval Officers.

"What's not supposed to mean?" Lt. Gillette asked offended by his last remark.

"Not now, jump in." Will said as he took the Commodore from Groves and jumped into the ocean below. Mullroy snatched rope and followed Turner into the water with Murtogg, Groves, and finally Lt. Gillette after him. Luckily after the pirate chase, Will had taught most of the Navy's officers how to swim. Jack had told Will on the Interceptor about how he had saved Mrs. Elizabeth and that Mullroy and Murtogg did not know how to swim. This made Will smile as he watched them tread water, they would never have been able to escape this way if he had not taught them. It was pure luck that they made it to the Black Pearl unseen. Will looked up suddenly when he heard a bird squawking in the sky and watched as the parrot glide on the wind above their heads.

"Cook's parrot!" Will yelled waving his free hand trying to get the dumb birds attention, while trying not jostle the Commodore too much. "Damn it!" He groaned as the bird landed on the rail and flew off again. Seeing the parrot, Murtogg looked at Mullroy, both turned to look at Will, both thinking Damn Bird!

"Do you think Sparrow is still Captain?" Groves asked not recognizing the parrot but seeing that Mullroy and Murtogg did.

"Cook is loyal." Will said watching's Mullroy threw the rope. "I don't think he would agree with a mutiny." Will said as he now watched Mullroy pulled the rope tight. "Come on!" Will said as he grabbed the rope and started climbing to the Captain's quarters with the Commodore arms wrapped tightly around his neck. Will smiled as the grip around his neck tightened; it meant the Commodore was waking up more.

"Glad to see you're awake, Commodore. Hold on tight." Will said with a smile.

"You got us out of that brig pretty easily. Is that how you got Sparrow out of prison to save Miss. Swan?" The Commodore asked trying not looked down at the water below.

"Yeah, it's easy if you know what you are doing." Will said looking over his shoulder out the Commodore with a grin. When they reach the window ledge, the Commodore looked inside.

"No ones there." The Commodore said as he started to pull himself onto the window ledge and opened it. Then turned around and gripped sill to help Turner inside as well. Once everyone was inside the cabin, Groves pulled up the rope and shut the window as the Commodore slid to the floor with exhaustion.

"Where are we?" Lt. Gillette asked in a whisper as he looked around the colorfully decorated cabin.

"I think it's the Captain's cabin." Will answered not looking at him. "I'm not quite sure. All I saw was the brig." Will said as he started to cover at the Commodore with a blanket.

"Yo, Ho, Yo, Ho…" singing came from outside of the cabin.

"Hide!" Will said as he pushed Groves and Lt. Gillette into a close by closet, while Mullroy and Murtogg covered themselves and the Commodore with blankets on the floor.

"And loot, drink up me…" Jack stop singing as he opened the door and saw a soaking wet Will Turner standing in front of him.

"I need more rum." Jack said looking at his half empty bottle of rum, then back at the whelp that was standing in front of him.

"Jack, it's me." He said stepping closer to his friend.

"Mind tricks!" Jack slurred. "I definitely need more rum." He said now glaring at his bottle of rum.

"No, no tricks." Will said as you start forward and touched Jack's arm.

"Will, it's really you? How did you get here? Where is your bonnie lass?" Jack said looking around the room for the irritating woman.

"Miss Elizabeth is in Port Royal. Thank God! I was aboard a merchant vessel journeying with James to a port in Cuba. We were attacked by pirates, only me and five others survive." Will said looking down at his cold shaking hands.

"James?" Jack said "You Don't Mean James Norrington?"

Will nodded yes.

"That's why we swam here; it's too dangerous to take them into Tortuga. Pirates don't like Navy men."

"Agreed. Where are the others?" Jack said. He watched as if on cue as two men stepped out of a closet, while two other men lying on the floor pulled a blanket off of themselves and a third man. Just as he was about to step forward to assist the Commodores with his obvious injured leg, William swayed dangerously and stumbled forward. Jack reached out and pulled the lad to his chest, steadying the whelp and realized the boy was burning up with fever.

"Damn!" Jack swore as he lifted the boy into his arms and carried him to his bunk, after leading Will down, he turned to the others.

"Stay here, I have to get the doctor. There should be plenty of blankets. I'll have Gibbs come down to stay with you till I get back. Stay In This Room! I don't want pirates in Tortuga or from any other ship to see you." Jack said as he gathered blankets and handed them out. Then made sure Will and the Commodore were wrapped up in a blanket or two before turning to leave. When he reached the door he turned back to see two of the Navy men helped Commodore Norrington lie down next to Will. Then stepped outside his cabin and shut the door. Whoever did this was going to pay. Nobody hurt the whelp and got away with. Barbossa surely hadn't, that bastard was dead! But, he couldn't think about the right now, the whelp needed help and from the look of it's so did the Navy men.

"Gibbs" Jack shouted as he walked out onto the deck of the Black Pearl.

"Aye, Captain." Gibbs said as he came down from where he stood at the wheel as lookout.

"There are some men in my cabin, attended to them gently till I return and keep them off deck. They escaped from another pirate ship." Jack ordered.

"Captain? Why not take them back?" Gibbs asked confused at why Jack was showing mercy to stowaways on his ship."

"I hate slave drivers and I don't fancy Mr. Turner or any of the others as slaves!" Jack said angrily and glared at Gibbs for questioning his orders.

"Mr. Turner!" Gibbs gasped. "The others?" Gibbs asked looking away from his Captain glare.

"Commodore Norrington and four of his men." Jack said softly in his ear." That's why I am sending you and not someone else."

"Aye, Captain." Gibbs said as he rushed towards the Captain's cabin, not wanting to anger the Captain, anymore. But Commodore Norrington, Damn, it had to be bad for him to allow him on his precious ship. Gibbs slowly opened the door to view the damage. Two men were lying on the Captain bunk and four were huddled on the floor in blankets. All of them were soaking wet and bruised. He could almost see Lt. Gillette's bones through his skin and yes he remembered these men. He had sailed with them, on the crossing from England and he was as horrified as Jack was with their conditions. He wasn't surprised that Jack was showing mercy on the Navy men, even though they had tried to hang him, he knew Will had known these men all his life, since he had been brought to Port Royal as a small lad. The whelp had a pull on the Captain like no other and he knew Jack would do anything for him. Jack also knew that it would make it difficult on him as well to see harm come to the men he had sailed with and trusted.

"Gibbs?" Groves asked looking at the pirate in dirty and ragged clothes questionable.

"Aye, how badly is everyone injured?" Gibbs asked.

"Commodore Norrington has an injured leg and was hit on the head pretty hard. We have suffered a few bruises." Lt. Gillette said pointing to the men around the room and leaving Turner out. The boy was nothing but a nuisance and a hindrance.

"I'm not sure what that filthy pirate Captain on the other ship did to Mr. Turner. He won't tell us, but he is injured as bad as I am or worse." Commodore Norrington said giving Gibbs knowing look. "Lt. Gillette, you are out of line." The Commodore said turning to look at his officer.

"But Commodore?" The man stammered as he lowered his head.

"Mr. Turner is as important as anyone else in this room and you will stop treating him like he was shite on your boot! You will not speak ill of him again! Do you hear me?" Norrington said angrily.

"Yes. " To Gillette responded glaring at Turner or giving him into trouble.

"Gillette!" Norrington said from his spot on the bed, looking angrier than he had before.

"Yes, Commodore Norrington." He said lowered his head yet again.

"Now go sit down and be quite." Commodore said before turning his attention back to Gibbs. "Could we have a few baths brought up so we can get clean and warm, Mr. Gibbs." Norrington asked kindly.

"Aye, Commodore. I'll send for a few basins and have some hot water boiled." Gibbs sat down on the edge of the bed as he spoke "What did you mean by or worse?"

"We heard them shout on deck that Tortuga was ahead and one of the pirates came down with Will. He been taken to see the Captain earlier that day. He tossed Will back into the brig naked and threw his closes on top of him." Norrington said as he gently ran one of his hands through Will's hair. "He doesn't deserve what those bastards did to him. I know he was whipped, but I don't know if he was… if those bastards…" Norrington looked down with anger in his eyes not able to finish his sentence, knowing it was his failure to protect Will that put the lad in this situation.

"Easy, Commodore." Gibbs said as he moved the blanket that covered Will. Then he rolled the sleeping boy onto his stomach and pull down his pants to see if he had been harmed. Slowly but gently he parted Will's cheeks to examined him. No damage. "No damage, they must seen the Port before they had a chance to hurt him." Gibbs said with a sigh of relief and watched as the Commodore looked over to examine Will himself. Then nodded to Gibbs and pulled Will's pants back up. Gibbs covered them both with more blankets and walked to the door.

"Marty, Cotton!" Gibbs shouted after opening the door.

"Aye" the midget said.

"Get me five bathing basins. Also have six buckets of boiling water and three barrels of cold water, brought to Jack's cabin."

Marty and Cotton looked at him as though he had grown another head.

"Mr. Turner was found injured. You know landlubbers like baths and he has friends that would like to be clean as well." Gibbs said not in the Captain said.

"Aye" Marty said not needing any other explanation than that as he ran to follow orders with Cotton right behind him.