FOR YOUR EYES ONLY

CHAPTER 3—Jack Sparrow's Doing

DISCLAIMER: Jack'n'Lizzie etc. do not belong to me. I make no money from the writing of this fan fiction.

A/N: Hello, everyone! Sorry for the lack of an update yesterday, but I had a bio test to study for and got caught up.

Thanks for the continued reviews, you guys are awesome! Reviews really do prompt me to update more frequently, so keep 'em coming!

This chapter will move through the cave scene from CotBP rather quickly. We've all seen the movie and know what happens, so it will jump around a bit, highlighting the most important scenes and of course, changing them so they have a more Sparrabeth-y shine on them!

The hours dragged on, one by one, as Jack sat alone in the brig. This wasn't the first time in his life that he'd been imprisoned on a ship (or anywhere else, for that matter) and he knew it wouldn't be the last. However, he almost always found some form of entertainment. Sometimes there was another prisoner to talk to, or a guard to pester. Usually, he'd pluck some trinket from his hair and make good use of it or come up with an elaborate means of escape, or fantasize about how great life would be once he got the Pearl back.

But not this time, not on the Dauntless. Jack was the only one in captivity on the ship, which he found ironic, considering his notions of freedom. He surmised that that was the most likely reason as to why he was locked up… his definition of "freedom" did not meet the king's standards. The guards were just outside, able to keep him from escaping yet out of earshot for any sarcastic quips or jokes he might come up with. He had, for a brief matter of time, found some use out of a bead he plucked from one of his many dreadlocks, but it quickly became boring and was now lost in one of the cell's dark corners. That reindeer shin might come in handy for picking the lock, but he had nowhere to escape to.

When he closed his eyes and leaned against the cell wall, he tried to think about the Black Pearl. He tried to remember what it felt like to have the cool wood of her wheel under his hand, or the sound of her tattered sails rustling in the breeze. He tried to remember what it was like to sit in the crow's nest, to feel like you were on top of the world… what it was like to feel invincible. He used to think that being the captain of the Black Pearl made him invincible, that somehow, the mighty ship brought him some kind of immortality. But now? Now he wasn't as sure.

It seemed that no matter how hard he tried to envision himself back at the Pearl's helm, one image kept popping into his mind. That image was none other than Elizabeth Swann. It seemed that every picture he had of her kept flashing through his head. The look in her eyes, looking up at him from the docks in Port Royale… the fierceness in her voice when she called him a "wretch" on the Interceptor… the look on her face when she took her first sip of rum, and the amusement in her smile when he told her the truth about how he escaped the island the first time… Then, of course, there was the warmth of her body as they danced around the fire, and the conviction with which she promised to kiss him. The way she melted against him as she cried, allowing him, a known pirate and rogue, rock her to sleep and believing in him when he told her it would be alright.

Then, when she actually did kiss him… it was so brief, yet so entirely Elizabeth. He knew it hadn't meant anything, that it was just her way of thanking him for the sacrifice he had made, but something about that kiss was different than any kiss he'd ever given or received. He also knew it would never be spoken of again, but he couldn't help but wonder if any kiss would match up to that one, perfect Lizzie-kiss.

The more he thought about the Lizzie-kiss, the more he thought about her in general. How could she, his little pirate in disguise, be engaged to Commodore Norrington, of all people? How un-fairytale-like life was… There would be no sailing off into the sunset this time around. They'd go to the cave, rescue Whelpiam (who, as Jack thought, had gotten himself into this mess), and go back to Port Royale. Will would return, broken-hearted, to his blacksmith's shop. Elizabeth would marry the commodore. Jack would likely hang. There were to be no happily ever afters… it seemed that no one was getting what they really wanted. Except maybe Norrington, and Governor Swann, of course. Once again, the men with the white wigs prevailed.

As another hour crept by, Jack wondered what had happened to her. After his little warning about Barbossa, she'd disappeared, and he hadn't heard from her since. He'd had time to develop his plan for keeping her away from the crusty old pirate and knew it was a feeble way of doing things, tattling on her, but it would get the job done. He could hope that she had abandoned her plans and then there would be no need for tattling to her big, bad fiancé, but he knew it wasn't likely, and she therefore left him no choice.

The brig door creaked open and Jack squinted his eyes to adjust to the in-pouring light, but furrowed his brow when there was none. The sun must have set. He rose to his feet, hoping to see the golden-haired piratess, but frowned and suppressed the urge to roll onto the floor and pretend to be asleep when two guards, followed by Norrington, appeared. One of the guards unlocked the cell door and held it open. The commodore just stared at him, an irritated look on his face.

"I doubt this is your way of tellin' me I'm free to go," Jack smirked, tucking his hands behind his back.

Norrington sighed, annoyed. "With me, Sparrow," he said.

"James," Jack swayed forward a few steps, leaning against the door frame. He took utter delight in the look of loathing on the other man's face when he called him by his first name. "Are ye aware of what your dearly beloved has been up to in the last few hours?"

Norrington frowned and crossed his arms. He didn't want to know what the pirate had to say, but knew quite well that he would likely tell him anyways. "Enlighten me."

Jack smirked. "She came t'visit me."

"Did she." His tone of voice suggested an utter lack of interest, though Jack could tell by the look on his face that he was bothered by it.

"She did," he said, nodding. "An' she seems to think she's accompanying us over to Isla de Muerta."

"She does?" Norrington leaned forward slightly, his cover blown. Noticing this, he cleared his throat and straightened up again. "Why does she think that?"

"Dunno," Jack shrugged his shoulders and stretched, feigning disinterest himself, though he was talking complete and utter satisfaction in Norrington's growing discomfort. "She said somethin' about throwin' herself at Captain Barbossa. Somethin' about usin' her womanly wiles to persuade 'im to help grant me my freedom." He looked from his dirty fingernails back to the commodore, arching an eyebrow. "Now call me crazy, James, but does that not seem like an ill-fated plan? Not only for her sake, but yours as well? Losin' a fiancé to the clutches of a pirate an' then losin' your custody of the Captain Jack Sparrow to the very same pirate?"

Norrington's eyes flashed with worry and he looked at the ground, pondering before looking back at Jack.

"This is Jack Sparrow's doing!" Elizabeth pounded on the cabin door, her voice starting to go hoarse from all the screaming. She spun around, exasperated, and leaned against the wood.

So Jack thought he was clever, did he? The man was infuriating more than anything else! Oh, if she could just get her hands around his neck…

She had arrived on deck moments earlier, her rehearsed speech about wanting to be by her beloved fiancé's side as he went to challenge those "barbaric scoundrels" when she found that the longboats had already departed the Dauntless. The longboat carrying James, Jack and several others was just being lowered into the water and she ran to the rail, looking down at them just as Jack happened to look up. He grinned at her and gave her a little wave as the boat hit the water's surface.

Before she could think of an insult to yell to the man, two pairs of hands grabbed either of her arms and she found herself, despite all protests, being dragged back to her cabin. Strict orders, indeed! For her own safety! From a different perspective, it was a good thing they had locked her up, for were she to be turned loose now, she would give a hearty bunch to the teeth to the first man she saw.

She had to get out of the cabin. As appealing as the idea of wringing Jack's neck was, he needed her more than he thought he did. Without her, there was no one to think of bartering for his freedom. She could not return to Port Royale just to watch him dangle from the gallows. She could not.

So far, so good…

Jack was nearly out of breath as he dodged around piles of treasure, avoiding every swipe Barbossa made with his sword. He had the piece of Aztec gold safely tucked away on his person, completely unbeknownst to his counterpart. Will was, surprisingly, handling his own against three of Barbossa's men, which gave him one less thing to worry about. And Elizabeth, as pretty as she was to look at, was locked up safe in a cabin aboard the Dauntless.

Jack had originally thought that he might be able to use methods of persuasion to defeat Barbossa, but that plan flew out the window and he quickly realized that this fight would not before until one of them, or both of them, was dead. He had his next move planned out perfectly as he ran up the natural, stone incline. It would do Barbossa no real damage, but it might be able to buy him some much needed time, a way to figure out how to end this battle once and for all.

Within seconds, Barbossa had caught up to him and they were back to bashing their swords together. With one, simple false step, Jack stumbled, quickly whirling his head around to keep an eye on his opponent. Barbossa smirked, pleased with himself.

"Ye can't beat me, Jack!" he taunted, throwing his hands in the air, reminding him of his immortality. His mind light lightning, knowing it was time to make his move, Jack was back on his feet and plunged his sword into Barbossa's abdomen. The older man didn't grimace in pain, but instead looked away, sighing with what appeared to be boredom. If things had gone according to plan, Jack would have been halfway across the cave by the time Barbossa had even removed the weapon from his gut.

But, as it often went, things didn't go according to plan. Out of the corner of his eye, Jack saw a flash of gold. He briefly cocked his head to the side to see Elizabeth, fighting on her own with an ease that surprised him. She knocked her opponent to the ground and her head turned towards him, their eyes locking. Even from where he was, he could see that familiar glimmer of defiance in her eyes, and she smiled at him, clearly satisfied with herself. His lips had just curled up in the slightest of grins when he felt something go through him and he heard Elizabeth scream.

"Jack! No!" Elizabeth dropped her weapon of choice to the ground with a loud clatter, watching with stunned horror as Jack, wide-eyed, looked at the sword protruding from his midsection. Tears instantly sprung into her eyes and she covered her mouth with her hands. The sounds of battle still raged on, as Will continued his combat with his own adversary, but she heard nothing. Everything seemed to slow down as Jack stumbled back into the moonlight and she watched as his tan flesh gave way to that of decaying skin, hanging off of his bones, his clothes shredded.

"Sometimes I wonder what side he's on," she heard Will, panting and breathless, move up behind her. She said nothing, but instead released the breath that had caught in her throat. She grabbed his arm and ran in the other direction.

There was still a fight to be held.

Elizabeth had never been more tired in her entire life, but it was the most satisfying exhaustion she had ever experienced. After an awkward encounter with Will, she found herself leaning against a large marble statue, watching Jack from a safe distance. He was moving about the piles of treasure, picking up certain pieces before either pocketing them or tossing them back. His collection of gold and jewels was growing and she watched, an amused smile flashing across her lips, as he placed a crown on his head.

She sighed. How was she supposed to do this? How was she supposed to tell him that the Pearl was gone, that his newfound crew had already abandoned him? Earlier that day, neither of them had really though that things would escalate the way they had, into a battle like the one they'd just fought. But they did. Barbossa was gone, his crew likely captured by that of the Dauntless. Jack had just been given his freedom, his ability to return to the Pearl and sail away without a care in the world. Or so he thought. How was she supposed to squash this short-lived hope of his?

She straightened up, nervously tucking a few strands of hair behind her ears. It didn't matter, she had to tell him. She couldn't watch the look on his face, the face of a man she now considered a friend, when they got outside and he realized he was destined for the hangman's noose after all.

"Take what ye like, darlin'," Jack said loudly, looking up and noticing her as she came towards him. "Ye'll likely never see treasure like this in your lifetime, I can guarantee it."

"Jack…" The sad, seriousness to her tone made him stop what he was doing. He dropped the jewel encrusted goblet he held in his hand and stood upright, locking eyes with her.

"That was a very stupid thing, I'll have you know," he said, pointing a finger at her. "Got me all distracted, you did." He paused, smirking at her. "I knew you had it in you."

"Jack," she said again, this time more urgently. He frowned when she began to wring her hands together.

"What? What is it?"

"It's the Black Pearl," Elizabeth said quietly. Her eyes became glossy and she looked away from him, sniffling.

Suddenly, Jack knew. The look of remorse on Elizabeth's face told him everything. He sucked in a deep breath through his nose, trying to gather the right thoughts while hiding his utter disappointment. "She's gone, isn't she?" he asked. She nodded, looking as if she was going to burst into tears at any moment. He took another deep breath and turned away, digging through another pile of treasure to hide his face from hers. "Well, ye win some, ye lose some."

"Oh, Jack!" In an instant, he felt her wrapped around him, her face pressed against his back.

"Liz," he said quietly, turning around again to face her. Streams of tears were trickling down her cheeks and he brushed them away with the pads of his thumbs. "I've still got time. Don't fret, luv. Yer face is much prettier when it hasn't any worry-wrinkles on it."

"I'm sorry, Jack," she whispered, though she knew "sorry" would never be a strong enough word for the despair she felt and knew he must be feeling as well. "I promise to think of something. I won't let you hang."

"Don't go doin' anything to get yerself in trouble," he said, his voice still soft and quiet. This was a different side to Jack, one she hadn't seen before. He smirked, his grin glinting gold, reminding her of the pirate she knew. "You know I'll second-best you anyways." He released himself from her grasp and walked away, muttering something to Will on his way towards the cave's exit.

When Elizabeth was a child, and she traveled with her father from London to the Caribbean, the gentle rocking of the ship's waves had always been enough to lull her to sleep. But not anymore, not on this particular night. She tossed and turned in her bunk for nearly three hours, her stomach full of knots and tears threatening to fall. Had she only gotten to the cave moments earlier… things could have been so different.

Talking to her father and James proved fruitless. They both seemed willing to listen, but not to her surprise, told her there was nothing they could do. Jack would hang and nothing could stop that.

Well, nothing in their eyes. She still had to save him. She had to do something, to rescue him the way he'd done for her twice now. She quietly padded out of bed, creeping around the edges of the ship, hidden from the other sailors in the shadows. When she reached her destination, she knocked lightly on the door, hoping the occupant had heard her. She could not risk knocking louder for fear of being discovered.

"Elizabeth?" Will was clearly confused to see her standing there. He rubbed his eyes sleepily. "What is it? Is something wrong?"

"Will," she smiled, relieved again to see her childhood friend safe and sound.

"Please, come in," he stood aside, letting her enter.

"I've been thinking…" she said, wasting no time. "It's about Jack."

A/N: Ooh! Perhaps the mastermind behind Jack's escape was not Will after all!

Well, that's it for Chapter 3! I hope you guys liked it. Thanks for reading, now go review! I love hearing what you think.

See you all at Chapter 4!