A glimpse of a man.
As he rowed away in the little boat Jack thought back to the moment he shared with Elizabeth. The moment with talk about being a pirate and being a good man.
The moment had come when he'd have to make a decision and he found himself unable to stop thinking about Elizabeth. He'd been doing that a lot recently. While sailing around he'd start humming the song she taught him on that spit of land. Then he'd think back to how she looked on that island and the kind of woman she had become in such a short time. It amazed him till this day that she had grown from a spoilt little girl to a strong and passionate woman in just a few days.
Hethough about what would happen if he left them there with no row boat to face that monster again. He imagined Elizabeth fighting with all her strength until the end. He imagined a huge tentacle wrapping around her and squeezing her until her body cracked and she could draw no breath in to scream for help. As soon as that thought flashed through his mind he knew what he had to do.
Flipping open the compass he saw it point to Elizabeth and knew he had to save her at all cost. Rowing back he caught a glimpse of his reflection in the sea andfelt thathe had made the right decision. For the first time in years he saw a good man staring back at him instead of a pirate.
Maybe now she would look at him like a man with a good heart and she would be with him. He knew he wasn't worthy of such a beautiful and good woman but a man could hope and dream. Finally Jack had a dream besides getting back a ship. He would always love the Black Pearl but he loved Elizabeth too. Maybe he could convince her to sail the seas with him. He'd have to find a new ship of course but he wouldn't mind. He didn't even mind if he didn't find some great treasure. If he had Elizabeth by his side, he was the richest man on earth.
He saw that monster and saw the net full of gun powder and looked around for a gun. A man was hauled across the ship just as he was about to fire at the net. He saw Elizabeth scramble for the gun and beat her to it.
For the rest of his days, he would never forget that look on her face when she saw him. That look of happiness and hope and relief. He felt warmth spread throughout his body, and a tingling sensation started to shoot from his heart throughtout his whole body.
Suddenly reality came crashing back and their world evaporated. He picked up the shot gun and took aim at the net. He spotted Will still on the net and half wished he didn't make it off in time and blew up with the creature. At least then Will would be out of the way and he could have Elizabeth all to himself. But as Will dropped down and the shot was fired, relief washed over Jack and he knew he needed Will in his life as much as he needed Elizabeth.
Funny how his life was much simpler when he wasn't captain of the Black Pearl. At least then all he had to think about was keeping himself safe and figuring out how to get his ship back. Sometimes he wished he could go back to those days.