The Black Pearl sat motion less on the cerulean sea betraying that there was any actual movement on board the ship...
Elizabeth stabbed any pirate that was unlucky enough to get in her path. She put her back against the mast to catch her breath as her eyes searched for Jack and Will. It was raining and that wasn't making things any better than they should have been as well as making the deck slippery. She wiped her eyes of rain and spotted Will. He was holding his arm slashing at someone who was in his way. She saw him sigh heavily as he plunged the sword into the offenders stomach.
He yanked it out and slid down behind barrels of gun powder. It looked like the pirates they were fighting were beginning to wan and she had yet to see Jack anywhere. She just prayed he was fairing alright, for the attack had caught him completely off guard. She knew that the reason this fight was going on was because Jack had something that was unsettled between the two.
"Will, are you all right?" Elizabeth asked gently as she ran toward him. He had his eyes closed and his hand still on his shoulder.
"I'm fine Elizabeth, it's just a small cut, nothing to fuss over. I was about to come check on you, this fight has to be almost over. We have been at it for hours." She lifted his hand from his shoulder to look at the wound. And was relived when the wound looked to be clotting, though the rain was not helping.
"Have you happened to see Jack about anywhere. I haven't seen him since the other captain and his crew raided the Pearl." Her voice was full of worry and Will began to feel concerned himself. He looked down at the lower deck as the Pearl's crew began cheering as the enemy's crew had been vanquished.
"No, I'm afraid I haven't seen him lately, though it looks like we've won." He smiled at Elizabeth who smiled back at him halfheartedly.
His smile fell as he heard a familiar voice weakly yell for help.
Elizabeth's eyes widened and without warning she ran past Will, quickly making her way below deck. He followed her and drew his sword, in case it would be needed.
"Jack!" They both ran below deck fearing what had become of him. Stepping over bodies as they headed further into the darkness. Will grabbed a burning lantern and pulled Elizabeth closer to him.
"Jack!" they both called again as they spotted Jack sitting against the wall sword still in his hand. He looked up at them, and he had never been so glad to see them as he had now. He feared that they would have gotten killed, especially Elizabeth, but an enormous weight seemed to be lifted off of his shoulders at the sight of her. Elizabeth ran over to and checked him over. He seemed fine, a little scratched up but otherwise fine.
"I'm glad to see someone that isn't going to try and kill me." He smirked at Elizabeth.
"I'm so glad to see that you are all right and not just another body we will have to throw overboard later." She gently nudged him earning another grin that could be read as touché.
She then looked at the man lying on the ground mere inches from where Jack was sitting.
"So that was the bastard that threw out an attack on us so suddenly? Disgusting, he's as big as a bull. I don't see how you managed to take someone of his size down."
"I'm Captain Jack Sparrow, luv." He grinned once more, suppressing a wince.
She smiled at him and helped Will pull him up.
"Let's get you above deck, the crew is probably worried about you." As Jack got to his feet and tried to walk with the pair, he staggered as the room suddenly began to spin causing Elizabeth to grab his arm in alarm.
"Jack?" She asked worriedly watching him close his eyes and shake his head. Will placed a hand on Jack's shoulder making him open his eyes.
"It's nothing, just been in the dark on me rump too long and my balance is a little off." Jack winced as he glanced at Will's arm and the blood on his shirt.
"Are you wounded whelp? That's alot of blood there." Jack motioned to his shoulder and grimaced.
"It's not as bad as it looks. I've had worse." He said bitterly.
Gibbs was the first at the captains side when they came up. "Captn'! You're ok!" He said patting Jack's back.
"Yes Mr. Gibbs, seeing as I'm alive and well you can get to getting rid of the unwelcome stench aboard my ship." He motioned to the numerous bodies lying all over the deck. He walked to the side of the ship and closed his eyes trying hard to keep himself in check. He didn't want to believe it, but he had been wounded. A quick stab to his belly, caught him and he willed himself to finish off the other captain. He had lost a lot of blood and now his mind was wanting to give up the fight to stay conscious.
He closed his eyes and sucked in a breath at the pain that was slowly working it's way across his abdomen but quickly regained his composer of anything wrong as Elizabeth came and stood beside him.
"You are a brave man Jack, and that's very honorable." Elizabeth kept her gaze on the sea before them a few moments before looking up at Jack.
"Well luv," He leaned closer to her ignoring his wound and pulling his coat tighter around himself. "You have to learn to survive and adapt, you learn from experience." He tucked a stray hair behind Elizabeth's ear.
"No one should have to worry about you then, and yet they still feel they have to." His mind clouded once more as Elizabeth wrapped her arms around him in a gentle embrace, placing her head on his chest. He shook it to clear it and returned the embrace as best as he could. She smiled as she heard his heart begin to pick up speed and wondered momentarily if she caused it. In part it was from Elizabeth's loving embrace that made Jack Sparrow's heart speed up a few extra beats, but it was also his body telling he was in serious trouble from blood loss. He prayed that she didn't feel the damp blood spot but he could feel her arm pressed up close to the wound causing him pain, and pulled himself away.
She also pulled away and looked up at him.
"Thank you Jack. We couldn't have done it without you." She walked back over to where Will was standing and looked out on deck.
It took all Jack had to keep from screaming in agony as Elizabeth pulled away. His body was screaming at him for being stubborn and not getting help, and now it was probably getting to be too late. He then straightened up and turned around pulling his coat closed around his abdomen. Elizabeth looked back over at him and noticed that he had hunched over as if in pain. His face was suddenly different from when she was just talking to him, he looked older and worn, and very tired. She eyed him suspiciously.
"Crew, there are some matters that I must attend to, and I will be in my cabin for a while."
The crew eyed the captain warily and merely nodded as he stumbled towards his cabin drunkenly. As Jack walked past Elizabeth she grabbed his arm and caused him to look at her.
"Are you alright Jack?" He smiled as if he was just his old self but she could see it in his eyes.
"I'm fine darling, just need some rest is all." She stared at his abdomen that he seemed to be covering up with his coat so suddenly. She wasn't convinced in the least.
"Well you go get some rest then." She said as he walked off. She then looked at Will.
"Something isn't right with Jack, Will. He is hiding it but I know there is something wrong." Will nodded and stood beside her.
"We need to keep an eye on him, I fear he may be wounded." Elizabeth glanced at him with worry filled eyes.
"Well Elizabeth, he is The Captain. He is too proud to show any weakness. If he falls apart, so does his crew. But I agree, we need to look out for him. I have to help clear the deck, but I will go with you and check on him later on."
Jack closed the door behind him and looked down as he opened his coat to reveal a blood soaked shirt. The wound was swollen and still bleeding, and the white makeshift bandaged he had wrapped around it prior was now a bright crimson. He touched it and gasped in pain.
"Bloody hell." He hissed through gritted teeth. He knew that if he didn't take care of it, if he didn't die from blood loss, he would surely die from an infection if one were to set in. He grabbed a bottle of rum from his bedside and grabbed some cloths and unwillingly poured some rum in the wound desperately trying not to scream out in pain as the burn rushed through his veins. He watched the bloodied rum spill to the ground and he stumbled heavily over to his bed. He tore his shirt off of himself and threw it aside, letting the wound breathe. He hoped that the action he just took would help him in the long, but as the room began to tilt and his mind clouded once more, he wasn't so certain.
He laid himself down in hopes to stop the dizziness that pounded through his head and took a long swig of rum, quickly emptying the bottle. He wanted the rum to dispose of the pain, but he still could feel it, white hot pain right in the center of his belly. The rum was starting to affect his mind and he welcomed the oblivion that was coming swiftly. The last thing he saw before sinking into a deep darkness was the bright moon overhead, that just hours ago would have been hidden behind the rain clouds.
Elizabeth was deeply worried for Jack, he played pain off so well. Perhaps that was one of the things he had learned to adapt to. She sat up from her bed and walked over to the door and pulled a coat around her. She debated on weather to take a lantern of just walk guided by the moon light, but she decided that she needed to be able to see Jack so she lit the lantern. She walked to Jack's cabin and lightly knocked on the door and no answer.
"Jack." she called gently, she knocked a second time and still no answer. Her heart pounded as she knocked once more for good measure. Still, she was welcomed with silence. She pushed the door and to her surprise it opened, as he normally had it locked. It was dark as the lanterns he had about had all burned to the quick and it smelled of blood and rum. She lifted the lantern up so she could see the room better and her eyes drifted to the bed and she nearly dropped the lantern. Jack was lying atop of the bed, barely breathing as his chest jerked slightly up and down as he gasped for air.
She ran over to him setting the lamp beside the bed and examined his abdomen. And just as she had suspected, there was a deep wound, angry and swollen. She glanced over to the overturned rum bottle atop his bedside table and looked to the bloodied rum on the floor and began to work out that he had attempted to clean it out.
She looked at his face and caressed it gently, it was covered in sweat and glistened in the lanterns light. He looked so pale, so close to death. She wanted nothing more that to heal him, but it was beyond her. She gently wiped away the blood around the wound and Jack gasped grabbing her hand and groaned in agony.
"Oh Jack." Elizabeth whispered brushing the side of his face with her fingers.
His dark eyes fluttered open briefly and he weakly squeezed Elizabeth's hand.
"I'm so...glad to see you Lizzy." Jack said his voice barely above a whisper. Elizabeth tried as she might to hold back the tears that so readily threatened to fall. He had went down so fast.
"Jack I need to go get some help, please stay with me." She pulled him up to face her.
"I'll try my best luv." He said laying back into the pillow. She stared at him trying hard to keep consciousness for the pain was still intense and his body was helping him the only way it knew how. With that she dashed out of the room leaving the lantern.
"Will, Mr. Gibbs, somebody come quick!" She yelled and ran to each door knocking as loudly as she could.
Will was the first one up and out and his eyes widened as he saw Elizabeth's face stained with tears.
"What's wrong Elizabeth?" he asked gently grabbing her by the shoulders. She looked up at him with red blood shot eyes.
"It's Jack, he was stabbed and he is slowly slipping away. He hid it from us, he didn't want us to know!" She screamed.
"He is going to die if we don't do something!" She grabbed his hand and pulled him to Jack's cabin.
They both entered along with almost half of the crew.
"Mary, mother of God!" Gibbs exclaimed as his eyes fell on Jack's form.
"Jack, why didn't ya come to us. We could have helped you!" Gibbs gripped Jack's shoulder and held back tears of his own.
Jack tried to laugh but coughed instead.
"Thought I could handle it, guess I was wrong." He replied weakly. Gibbs examined the wound, it was deep and he could see the abdominal muscles that were sliced clean through.
"I'll be needin' some rum to clean this with." Gibbs whispered to Elizabeth so Jack wouldn't hear. Elizabeth nodded and found an unopened bottle, and handed it back to him
"This will hurt a bit Jack, so just try and keep some sense about ya." He said pouring rum in the wound and dabbing the cloth around it. Jack's eyes flew open and he groaned in agony before collapsing back onto the bed as he lost consciousness.
"Oh God!" Elizabeth whispered to herself as she turned into Will.
"Is he still breathing?" She heard one of the crew members ask and she turned to look at Jack's chest.
It rose and fell with short rasping gasps.
"Give the man some room!" Will exclaimed as he shooed many of the crew gathered so close to Jack's bed.
"Someone needs to stay with him in case something happens." Elizabeth said sniffling.
"I'll do it tonight." Will looked back at Jack with sympathy.
"We'll take turns, and just pray he gets better." Elizabeth said wiping her eyes.
"We'll see how he is in the morning, right now you just get some rest Elizabeth." He walked her over to the door and hugged her gently.
"I'll be the first to wake you if something does happen." He said as he pulled away and looked down at her. She nodded and walked out and Will went to sit in the chair at the desk. He looked over at Jack once again and watched his chest barely rise and fall.
It was going to be a long night...
A/N- This was edited heavily, but I hope you all like the same.