Save The Best For Last

Disclaimer: SPOILER FOR DEAD MAN'S CHEST! I own nothing and I really don't want to own Elizabeth. How could she do that to poor Jack and Will?

The Kraken was coming, there was no way to stop it. Elizabeth knew deep in her heart Jack would take the bait she offered, call it curiosity. Yes, Jack wanted to taste it, Jack wanted to taste her. She felt bad but obviously not bad enough. As Jack pointed out to her "PIRATE". His words echoed in her ears and the smirk on his face had never left even as she backed away from him.

She was now sitting beside Will in the long boat as they silently rowed down the murky river towards Tia Dalma's shack.

Tears welled up in her eyes but she just sat in her own little world not saying a word to Will. She knew that she had had to do something, so she did. She wanted to tell someone what she had done to Jack but she couldn't. It was underhanded and cruel and very much like a pirate. She could not tell Will or Gibbs. Jack was there friend, in most cases. Jack did trade Will for himself and he left him at sword point with Norrington but Will was much more then an acquaintance to Jack, he was Jack's friend.

Will never would think of leaving Jack handcuffed to the ship. He would never have resorted to persuasion and he would be deeply hurt if he knew she kissed, yes kissed, Captain Jack Sparrow to save her hide and those of the crew. Of course another thing that was deeply bothering her was that she had liked it, she had liked that kiss.

She closed her eyes and tried to hold back the tears. Everybody looked up to Jack, they all felt he was a good man. Well, yes, he was as long as he profited from it. But Elizabeth's heart and soul belonged to Will, didn't they?

She glanced at Will and as she did he turned his eyes away from her. He had been watching her intently but said not a word. She shook her head and thought of the damn compass. Why did it point at Jack all the time? Jack said it would point to the thing you want most in this world. She figured it was broken, but Jack assured her it was not.

She loved Will but when Jack taunted her with that hasty proposal she was taken by surprise. "Why not?" he asked her.

Indeed, he had had the nerve to say, "We are so much alike, you and I. I and you. Curiosity and the longing for freedom, doing what you want because you want it. To act on selfish impulse."

Someday, he said she would not be able to resist. He was so certain she would come over to his side.

A chill ran down her back. That day had come. Yes, she did act on selfish impulse. But then again, she had to do something. She told Jack they were a lot alike because there would be a moment when he would have a chance to do the right thing. He would have a chance to do something brave and to discover that he himself was a good man. Then she had to go one step further, she had to throw in the same word he used, curiosity, and she had leaned in to kiss him. There lips almost touched but did not. He did do the honorable thing and did not kiss her. She wondered why he did not. She was very surprised, and she would never know that he was going to kiss her except that the black spot on his hand had reappeared and he had run off for his jar of dirt.

Jack was unique, different, he loved life and life loved him. Adventure, lust, charisma, women…it all came together to give him a drunken yet interesting aurora. Elizabeth could not believe the strong yearning she felt for Jack, even though he was nothing like Will. Will had always been there for her; Will was brave, loyal and certainly not bad on the eyes. Jack, on the other hand, was manipulative, a coward and would sell a man's soul. No, he would sell 100 men's souls for his own and he could live with it.

Elizabeth looked about the long boat at all the grave faces. She saw the deep sorrow in Gibbs' eyes. As the Kraken attacked the ship, it was Will and Gibbs who took control of the situation. Will immediately started giving orders and Gibbs made sure every man did his job. He told them to work as if they were getting paid.

Will had taken command. The men all followed Will's orders and nobody asked "where is Jack?". No, Will told everyone to load the guns and hold the fire until the proper moment. Will was the one who told Gibbs and the men to load up the powder and the rum. Will was the one who gave Elizabeth the gun and told her not to miss. William Turner was the one who crippled the beastie while Jack ran. Jack was a coward, he dropped the last boat and headed away. Was he doing this to save them? NO, he was running away to save his own skin. She knew the rest of the crew did not know this about their captain. It really did not matter since he did come back.

Elizabeth had no idea that Jack had looked at the compass and now knew exactly what he wanted but it was too late. Isn't it odd sometimes the very thing you're looking for is the one thing you can't see? Did he come back for his crew, for the Pearl or for her? Everyone knows Jack Sparrow's first love is the sea and his freedom, but nobody would know what was going through Jack's muddled and confused mind.

Everyone's eyes were on Jack as he gave the orders to abandon ship and then Gibbs repeated abandon ship or abandon hope. The crew, who were few, looked at the long boat Jack pointed to. Then they looked at all the water between them and land.

Will and Gibbs agreed they could do it. Yes, there was much water, but they would have time while the Kraken was taking down The Pearl. Everyone listened except Jack and Elizabeth. Jack walked around the desolate broken ship as though he were saying goodbye to an old friend, but in his mind he knew she was only a ship. His heart said differently but he was ready to go. Wood shards lay everywhere, cannon balls and barrels rolled past his feet as The Black Pearl listed. He ran his hand over the main mast and turned to see Elizabeth's soft woeful eyes staring up into his sun burnt face.

"Thank you Jack, you came back. I knew you were a good man." She leaned into Jack and kissed him. Not just a kiss, it was the kiss of death. Jack should have known that Elizabeth had a plan, he himself told her they were like two peas in a pod but he had asked her to persuade him. She did and he went for it.

Her thoughts were on saving the innocent. The beast was after Jack and it wouldn't stop until it had him. How could she convince Jack of this? She didn't have to, he already knew. Unfortunately, the one thing you could count on Jack Sparrow to do was cheat and she knew he would always try to find a way out. Not this time. Elizabeth had to do something so she gave him a kiss, yes the forbidden kiss. Was it necessary to lure poor Jack to the main mast with a kiss? Probably not. Was Will suppose to see it? NO! But Elizabeth had kissed him anyway, and she was too blind to see what she had done to Will.

And so Elizabeth had approached Jack. She had looked at him with her adoring eyes. She had seen the passion light up in his eyes and his surprise as she moved closer. There had been a time when all she did was tell him how much she loved Will but now the message was different. Jack's heart started to thump harder and his brain went numb. Nobody was watching Jack's back now and Jack was watching his own front.

As Elizabeth's lips were locked on Jack's she cuffed him to his own ship. It was not the way she had hoped it would happen. She wanted everyone to be free of the beastie but that just was not in the cards. She had not planed this and she knew Jack had not but somehow it had to be done and she did it.

She stood in front of him, face to face. She could see the look in his eyes. Just when he thought his chance to slack his curiosity was near she went and saved Will and the crew.

Jack just looked at her and listened to her tell him she was not sorry for what she did. He smiled. His last word to her was. "Pirate."

Elizabeth looked at Jack and almost kissed him again but did not. Pirate…it was so true. She really had become like him. "I'm not sorry for what I did, Jack Sparrow," she whispered again, turning her face away from the others to be sure no one would hear her.

Will looked at her and his heart was pounding. Will was confused, angry and very hurt. He was not able to save his father, he had watched the Pearl and her captain go down and he had seen his fiancé kiss Captain Jack Sparrow. It wasn't just a kiss, it was full of passion and fire and deep intent.

Will had asked Jack to turn the Pearl around and fight the Flying Dutchman. Gibbs had told him The Pearl was the only ship Davy Jones feared and he had reason. Will told Jack that if they can outrun her they could take her.

Jack's comment to that had been, "or flee like the cowardly weasels we are. The Pearl may be able to match the Dutchman and we may have half a chance, in a fair fight. That, Lad, is not much incentive for me to fight fair." Jack had hugged his jar of dirt and that is when the ship lurched forward and Jack's jar fell and shattered.

Will had seen the sudden panic in Jack's face and from that point on he and Gibbs had taken over. Jack seemed to disappear. Will had no idea Jack had slipped away into a long boat. If he had seen that, he would have known Jack would not have been selfless enough to stay on the ship and let them get away.

No, Will knew nothing of Jack's cowardliness, he just saw Jack shoot the bullet into the gunpowder and rum. He was the one who slowed down the Kraken or, as Gibbs put it, made him mad. Jack had ordered the men to abandon ship but it was not in his nature to abandon hope, no not Jack Sparrow. The only way he would look death straight on was if there were no hope. Then he saw Elizabeth and Jack kiss.

"So where is Jack?" Will asked Elizabeth with a sting in his voice and a raised brow.

"Jack has decided to give us a chance. He is staying with the ship."

Will shook his head and looked at Elizabeth. This was the woman he saved from pirates, this was the woman he was going to marry and this was the woman who lied to him. She had lied about the medallion and she had lied about her name to Captain Barbossa. Lying seemed to come easy for her.

Why should he believe Jack elected to stay back? Well, the fact that he had indeed gone down with his ship may be one good reason. Why should he believe Elizabeth still loved him, or wanted to marry him? She was now probably longing after Jack. He had seen the passion between the two of them. He would rather have her tell him that she loved Jack Sparrow than lie to him.

He wondered how she could give her love to someone else and throw away their dreams. How could she have fallen for the infamous, womanizing Captain Jack Sparrow? Did Jack have feelings for Elizabeth? Had Elizabeth always had feelings for Jack and felt that, since they were doomed, she should finally tell him? Was Elizabeth so upset that she had to kiss the Pirate and tell him how she felt? She just had to kiss Jack Sparrow. Did she want to save the best for last? Was Jack the best? Was he honorable, was he courageous, would he die for them, for her? Will knew he would die for her and that is why he hurt so much. He would go to the end of the earth for Elizabeth. Little did he know he would be going there, but it would be to save Jack.

Will looked over at Elizabeth, her eyes downcast. She was hurting as much as everyone else, maybe a little more. Yes, they all missed Jack. The world did seem a bit less bright without him. Perhaps Jack did do this for the crew. Perhaps he did save the best for last. He gave himself to the Kraken.

A/N I loved the movie but I really don't understand Elizabeth. I know her intentions were to save everybody and Jack had to go but she really did not have to kiss him. Don't get me wrong I'd love to kiss Jack Sparrow but not if William Turner were my fiancé. No, I'm sorry, I could not do that to Jack and I would not do that to Will.

Lizzy