A Pirate and a Good Man
A.N. This takes place after the fight between the Black Pearl and the Interceptor in Curse of the Black Pearl. It works with the idea that Will was knocked out by the explosion of the Interceptor, and so he was unable to save Elizabeth. Because of this, that duty falls to the good man in Jack Sparrow. Probable (really almost definite) eventual Sparrabeth, but we'll see.
OooOooOooOooO (With Will)
Will struck out for the Pearl in haste. His arms ached with being battered by the breaking of the mast and then being thrown against it repeatedly, and his lungs throbbed in protest of the limited air supply. Despite it all, he forced himself to continue. He knew that the Interceptor would soon explode; he had heard Barbossa yell something to his minions about the powder magazine, and he knew what that meant. 'I have to get to Elizabeth, and I have to do it now!' He thought frantically.
Just as he reached the Pearl and began levering himself out of the water, the Interceptor exploded. The shock wave slammed through the water with terrible force. His legs were ripped out from under him, he was thrown into the air, and he landed with a painful thud in one of the lifeboats, unconscious.
OooOooOooOooO (On the Pearl)
Jack watched with an almost imperceptible wince as the Interceptor exploded. He had rather liked Will. Elizabeth, however, reacted with far more emotion. She had ducked under the ropes before the explosion, and now she flew at Barbossa like a woman possessed. "You've got to stop it!" She shrieked at she clawed at his face. "Stop it!" The pirate whirled and caught her hands easily with a smirk. Jack flinched again; this was going to be bad.
"Welcome back, miss," Barbossa retorted in an oily tone. "You took advantage of our hospitality last time. It holds fair now you return the favor." So saying, he threw her into the hold of the crew. They began pawing at her, their intentions clear, and she began to scream. Jack half expected Will to come popping out of the woodwork to save his love, but there were no signs of such desirable behavior. Jack heard the sound of ripping fabric over the piercing screams and looked up to see Elizabeth's dress being torn into pieces, leaving her in only her thin chemise.
"No," he whispered quietly. 'I can't let this happen,' he decided grimly. "Barbossa, wait!" He called loudly as he lurched out of his captors' hold. The crew froze in shock, but the two closest men maintained their hold on her. "I-," he paused, hating himself for what he was about to say. 'It won't matter; he's already dead,' the man rationalized. 'And I can't stand by and watch this happen.' "If you let her go, I'll tell you the name."
"Come again?" Barbossa cocked his head and looked at Jack with a somewhat incredulous look on his bearded face.
Jack sighed. "If you stop this madness, I'll tell you whose blood you need to lift the curse. It's not like your men can really feel, anyway, so they won't be missing much." Elizabeth was staring at him, looking half shocked, half terrified.
Barbossa appeared to weigh his offer for a few moments before nodding to his crew. The two men holding the woman back growled before shoving her forward into Jack's arms. Caught by surprise, he just managed to catch her before she went sprawling on the deck.
"Jack, what are you doing?" She gasped breathlessly as he set her back on her feet. She sounded more confused than angry, but he couldn't help but get defensive.
"I'm saving your skin; what does it look like? Now be quiet and get behind me." For once, she obeyed, and he faced Barbossa again. "I take it you agree to my terms, then?"
"Yes, I agree to your terms. Now back up." Suspiciously, Jack obeyed. Elizabeth stumbled backwards next to him, and soon he felt the wall of the cabin against his shoulders. "Good. Now. Boys, take 'em downstairs an' lock 'em in the special cell."
"That wasn't part of our deal, Barbossa," he accused hopelessly. He already knew where this was going, and he cursed inwardly for not thinking of it before.
"Ah, but it wasn't not part of our deal either. You were mum on several conditions, so…"
Before Jack could muster up any protest, not that there was really anything else to say, they were dragged down into the dark hull of the Pearl. For the second time that day, Jack found himself locked in a cell in his own ship. And this time, he was in the darkest, dankest, and most flooded cell in the place. This was the cell he would never have used when he had been Captain of the Pearl. To make matters worse, he found himself with a bitter, dirty, and bruised woman for company. Elizabeth was not happy with this change of events.
"How could you?! You can't betray Will, you just can't! What were you thinking?! Now we're locked up, and it's all your fault!" She continued to scream abuse at him, and he simply couldn't take it anymore, especially when he had given up his one bargaining chip and chance of freedom in an attempt to secure her safety.
"Elizabeth!" He shouted over her. She fell silent, but she was not completely cowed and continued to glare at him; he decided to lower his voice and calm his tone. "Will is probably dead." She opened her mouth to protest, but he cut her off. "You saw that explosion, same as I did. I'm sorry, truly, but I doubt even dear William could survive that."
After a moment, her lip began to tremble. Her slim, bare shoulders slumped, and she dropped to the flooded wooden floor with a splash.
"No," she whimpered. "It's… it's all my fault. I- I didn't…" she dissolved into wordless sobs. Jack, unsure of how to handle this, knelt beside her and cautiously wrapped his arms around her. When she didn't shake him off or scream at him some more, he gently pulled her closer. Normally, with an underdressed and rather beautiful woman in his lap, his thoughts would have been inappropriate and dirty, but at the moment, his mind couldn't have been further away from that.
As his lower legs began to chill with the wet fabric clinging to them, he attempted to comfort Elizabeth. "I'm so sorry. I wish there was something I could do. But it's going to be okay; we'll get out of this, and I'll try my best to get you home."
"But you're going to betray Will," she murmured weakly. There was no fire in her words, which was concerning in itself, but he had to assuage her doubts anyway.
"I have to give them his name to keep up my side of the bargain. If I don't, they could very well finish what they started. Will is probably dead, so it won't matter to him if I give them his name, but it will matter very much to both of us if I don't. Besides, don't you think that Will would have wanted you protected at all costs? If he were here, he would have given himself up by now to keep you safe, and you know it. I can't let them do this to you, Lizzie, and Will wouldn't have wanted me to."
At last, she slumped completely in his arms as she accepted the wisdom of his words. The practically glacial temperature of the cell and the seemingly endless amount of cold water were getting to them both, and Jack couldn't help but be a little relieved as the blonde snuggled closer to his chest; it alleviated the frigidity of the air at least a bit. With a groan, he heaved her up so that he could scoot back far enough to lean against the wooden wall before depositing her in his lap, fully this time. She gave no protest; she simply got as close as she comfortably could and let her filthy hair hide her face and her tears.
After a moment, he began rubbing her bare arms in an attempt to coax some modicum of warmth back into the pale flesh; it was then that he noticed something rather discomfiting. Because her chemise was soaked through (as were his own clothes), and it was pure white (which his were certainly not), it had become somewhat see-through. As he reached this… awkward revelation, he quickly averted his eyes, but he had no idea how to impart this news to Elizabeth without being beaten about the head for impropriety.
"Um, Elizabeth?" He tried.
"Hmm?" She looked up at him sleepily, but he could still see the grief and horror buried in her dark eyes. He proceeded with caution.
"I, um, I think it might, er, be best if you… well, if you take my jacket." He quickly unbuckled his belt and began shrugging off the garment in question. He was beginning to hope that this would go off without a hitch when she interrupted him.
"Why?" One word, yet it represented a world of trouble for him.
"Well, um, Elizabeth, you see…" he trailed off, unsure how best to explain the situation at hand.
"Yes? What is it, Jack?" He cursed under his breath, wishing that she would be as docile as a noblewoman was supposed to be but knowing that she would not be herself if she was. This thought gave him the courage to say what he needed to, but it didn't prevent the awkwardness of it.
"You, er, that is…"
"Just spit it out, Jack!"
"Your chemise is wet," he managed. She looked at him uncomprehendingly and then rolled her eyes.
"Yes, and?"
"It's white."
"Yes, I'm aware of that," she replied, staring at him and probably thinking he was an idiot. He grumbled to himself.
"White fabric that's wet," he repeated.
"What is your point, Jack?" She growled, finally irritated with his apparent evasion.
"Oh, for- it's transparent!" He bellowed. Well, perhaps it wasn't quite a bellow, but that was certainly how he felt.
"Wait, what?" Her head snapped down to verify his statement, and then she squealed, slid off of his lap, and attempted to cover herself. Luckily, he had almost finished removing his jacket while he was trying to enlighten the stubborn woman, and he yanked it off now.
"Here," he muttered as he offered it to her without looking. There was a moment's pause, and then he felt a tugging on the garment. He released it and waited for the rustling fabric to stop before he risked looking back at his cellmate. His long blue jacket definitely made her noticeably more decent than she had been, and it was thankfully long enough to cover all the important areas. That was worth the extra cold he was now experiencing.
"Thanks, Jack," she mumbled with a deep blush staining her cheeks.
"You're quite welcome, Elizabeth." A tense silence followed, unbroken until the brunette noticed the small tremors wracking the blonde's frame.
"Are you cold?" He inquired gently.
"N-no, of course n-not," she replied, but her chattering teeth belied that statement and exposed the truth of the matter.
"Oh, just come here," he grumbled in exasperation. She still refused to admit her lie, but she didn't resist as he swept her back into his lap. Her teeth stopped chattering, though, and his shivers eased as well.
"I…" The attempt at conversation drifted into silence before it had really begun, and Jack took pity on her.
"Go to sleep, Lizzie," he ordered kindly.
"I don't take orders from you," she snapped, but her eyes drifted closed anyway. 'Such a woman of contradictions,' he thought with a small chuckle. As her body relaxed, he heard a final murmur. "Goodnight."
OooOooOooOooO (With the Captive Crew)
After Jack and Miss Elizabeth had been taken to a cell, the rest of the crew had been dragged downstairs as well. Barbossa wasn't particularly interested in them, and they were properly grateful for that; far better to be ignored in this case. Gibbs had hoped that they would be able to confer with Jack, but they had been put into a holding cell on the other side of the ship, presumably to keep the other two isolated. When they had all settled down in the uncomfortable, crowded accommodations, they could all hear some rather loud screeching. It seemed that Elizabeth was deeply unhappy, and Gibbs couldn't help but chuckle at the ruckus. Jack finally managed to out-shout her, and the rest of the conversation was lost, but the crew was kept from despair by the entertaining mental image that had been created by the shouting.
"Poor Jack's met 'is match there, I do believe," Gibbs joked to Cotton and his parrot. The various conversations continued for a few minutes as everyone adjusted to the new circumstances and struggled to come up with a way out of them. Everything stopped when another yell echoed through the ship, this one even more interesting than the last.
"It's transparent!" Many of the men laughed suggestively at this development, and the sound grew all the louder for the squeak that followed. Gibbs wondered about the context, and he couldn't help but remember two things. One: the "special cell" was sure to be quite wet, and two: Miss Elizabeth's chemise had been thin and white. "Transparent" fit those criteria quite well, and Gibbs chortled. 'Poor Jack,' he thought with a grin. 'Met his match indeed.'
OooOooOooOooO
A.N. So, there's the first chapter. I hope you guys liked it. I had this idea quite a while ago, but I finally had the inspiration for the rest of the chapter. With any luck, there'll be another update soon, but I only have vague ideas about where the plot's going (any suggestions would be welcome in either the form of reviews or P.M.s, by the by) so it might be slow going. I'm also immensely busy, so who knows how long things could take. I do promise that we will get more on Will in the next chapter when it happens. (Oh, and the image is one that I created, in case anyone was wondering.) Anyway, that's the foundation for this story. Let me know what you think!