"You really should have stayed on the ship, love." Jack said, stepping on a tree branch so that Elizabeth could easily get over it. Ever since Jack discovered that she was pregnant with Will's child, he had been extremely protective of Elizabeth. His attempts to not to get her caught up in the middle of the action did not always work since her stubbornness was a bit too overbearing at times. However, whenever he was given the opportunity, Jack made sure that every little thing Elizabeth did was as safe and boring as possible.
"Why? So that you could have all of the fun?" Elizabeth replied, lifting up yet another branch. The woods were thick and she was almost positive they were lost. "Are you absolutely sure your compass works?"
"Positive." Jack stated, looking back at Elizabeth and his crew following, all of them tumbling on top of each other. "Blundering idiots," he mumbled as he looked back down at the compass. It was pointed straight ahead thankfully. Ever since Elizabeth started having those dreadful mood swings, his compass had begun pointing in the right direction.
The group came to a clearing in which a brook with dark stones laid on the bottom. As they drew closer, Elizabeth noticed parts of the brook looked abnormal. It was as if there were liquefied diamonds floating down it. "Jack?" she questioned, looking from him to the water. "Do you see this?"
"Hmm?" he said, not looking because he was too distracted by his compass.
She looked over at him and let out a sigh, annoyed that he was too absorbed in his plan to bother with anyone else's ideas.
With a gasp of faked pain, Elizabeth yelled out "Jack!" and gripped her body in a way that she knew would terrify him.
"What?" he yelled, looking up at her quickly. The compass dropped to the ground, and Jack moved straight to Elizabeth. He held his hands out in front of him as if preparing to catch something, but stumbled over a tree root instead. Elizabeth had at first been laughing at Jack for reacting in such an elaborate way, but after seeing the genuine worry in his eyes, she regretted making him worry at all.
Jack caught a glimpse her joking smile and stopped mid-motion. His hands were out in front of him, inches away from Elizabeth. Jack shook his head as if the scare hadn't bothered him. Truthfully, he was more relieved than annoyed at her.
"I should have ya walk the plank one of these days…" he joked quietly in a rough voice as he picked up his compass from the ground. Elizabeth cleared her throat, and Jack suddenly stopped when he realized what she was pointing at. The brook's abnormal appearance startled and excited him.
"Elizabeth, we've got it! Aye, we've got it!" Jack exclaimed, running around and looking from the compass to the water. "Gibbs, alert the crew!"
"Aye aye, sir," Gibbs responded with a confused smile on his face. He had never seen the Captain this excited in a long time.
"This is great, this is great! Elizabeth, you're brilliant!" Jack kept saying, stooping down to the water and touching it with his fingers. He jumped back up, his enthusiasm brimming.
Elizabeth had seen him this happy before on only one other occasion. It was when they were left abandoned on an island together, he was drunk as you could get, and she still despised him for all he was worth. Having a flashback from that night, she grinned and started dancing along with Jack.
"Yo ho, yo ho, a pirates life for me!" they both sang, smiling at one another.
Then the tension came between them. It almost seemed to come whenever they touched, whenever they sang the song that Elizabeth had taught Jack. It was as if an invisible barrier came between them, and they both knew that the barrier was Will Turner.
Even though he was gone and would not be seen for almost another nine years, the large, continuously growing bump on Elizabeth held enough memories for the both of them. He was still out there, and his child was about to be born. What was worse was that the woman who carried his child was unsure if it was worth the love that she and Will shared. Ten years was a long time, and then she would only have one day with him. Elizabeth questioned herself daily if she loved Will enough to wait that long.
Then there was Jack. He was always there caring for Elizabeth as a good friend should. Both Elizabeth and Jack enjoyed each other's company, and even though they had tension between them, he was someone. Ever since she found out that she was pregnant, he had become caring and kind, not like his usual self. Elizabeth knew that Jack would inevitably end up the father figure of her child. Jack being considered the fatherly type was laughable, but from his current behavior, Elizabeth knew he would do the job as well as he knew how.
The attraction that Elizabeth had for Jack was there, subtle and haunting, but she knew that she had to push away any hint of a feeling aside for the sake of both the baby and Will. If Jack didn't feel the same way, or worse, if Will found out and followed the fate of Davy Jones, Elizabeth wouldn't know what to do with herself. She would never wish that for Will. Elizabeth loved him too much, but the idea of waiting for such a long time concerned her. She knew though that she must ultimately stay strong for the sake of her baby.