Title: "What Jack Needs"
Author: Kat Lee
Rating: PG
Summary: Will knew what he needed before Jack did.
Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, names, codenames, places, items, fandoms, titles, and etc. are always © & TM their respective owners, not the author, and are used without permission. Any and all original characters and everything else is © & TM the author and may not be reproduced in any way without the author's express, written permission. The author makes absolutely no profit off of this work of fan fiction, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Note: 244. That's the number of stories that were sitting on my hard drive collecting dust because I lack the energy and time to take care of them as I once did. My betaing pattern has always been to write, then type up if written on paper, the story, read it aloud to my beloved Jack and our children, editing as I go, and then finally format and post. Sadly, this part is simply taking too much of my time and energy, and my beloved Jack and I have too little time together in person these days to be able to keep up with my stories. So what to do? Give up writing? I actually considered it for a while, tried to make excuses to myself other than the large number of stories collecting cyber dust on my computer, as to why I lacked the energy and Muse to write new tales. And then, with the turn of the new year, I decided to stop running and face the problem. The problem is, quite frankly, that once one gets so bogged down in formatting and editing that writing is no longer a pleasure but the actual posting of those writings becomes a hassle and - egad! - work, it's time to cut something out, and that will never be the writing process. So, in short, yes, there will be mistakes in this tale. Yes, it's missing about half of the header information I usually include. But I wrote it for pleasure and am posting it in hopes of sharing that pleasure with others. Do with it as you will.
"It's foolhardy, boy, an' I won't stand between ye an' death."
"I'm not asking you to. I'm just asking you to help me find her."
"That I will, but it's as far as I'm goin'. Ye get yer woman back, I get me ship, an' that's that."
Will nodded his agreement, but his rich, dark eyes continued to watch the Pirate Captain steadily.
"Out wit' it, boy," Jack snarled, and then instantly wished he hadn't.
"I know what your problem is," Will said. "You're jealous!"
"WHAT?!" thundered Jack.
"You're jealous," Will repeated, speaking more boldly. "You wish some one loved you like I do Elizabeth and had the courage to go after you when you were in danger! That's why you were still in jail: You have no one to come after you. No one who loves you, or wants to help you!"
"To be Bootstrap's son, ye're damn sure a landlubber idiot! All I need, all I want in this life, is me ship an' th' open seas." He shook his head; the beads threaded through his long, ebony hair jingled with the movement.
"Fine, fine," Will spoke, holding up his hands. His eyes gazed steadfastly into Jack's. "You don't need any one. You're alone, but you like it that way."
"Damn straight," Jack muttered and, turning on the heels of his boots, walked away and back to the ship's wheel. He continued to mutter more lies underneath his breath as he clutched the wheel steadily in his hands. He didn't need any one. He didn't want any one. He damn sure didn't want a boy who was so wrapped over a trollop that he was ready to get himself killed over her! But yet, before journey's end, Jack would find himself with everything he didn't need - and everything he did.
The End