Ch 3

Jack, worried out of his mind, swept up the chart piece and leapt from the little ship he had floated in to swim the rest of the way. When he reached the shore he saw one thing. Elizabeth. Elizabeth collapsed in the soft grass that skirted the beach. He moved over to her and immediately checked for breathing and a pulse. Feeling both, he allowed himself a sigh of relief. She would be ok. Not wanting to leave her side, he pulled out a flask of water, something he didn't drink much of. Rum was this Pirates main drink. Gently he poured some onto his finger and dabbed it onto her dry lips. She responded immediately by groaning and opening her eyes. Seeing who it was above her, she shot up into an upright position.

"Easy love. Don't want you passing out again." Jack placed a hand behind her back to steady her if she was to topple over backwards again.

Elizabeth choked out something between a laugh and a sob and threw her arms around the captain and her savior. Surprised, Jack took a moment to respond. He wanted more than anything to wrap his arms around the woman who now clung to him but resisted. Instead, he pushed her out to an arm's length and looked at her. "And how is Mrs. Turner doing?"

Elizabeth's gut clenched when she heard herself referred to as Mrs. Turner. More than usual, it seemed, when Jack called her that. The feeling was expressed as anger as she addressed the pirate before her. "I would have been fine without you. I just blacked out a moment from not eating in a few days and not having enough water to drink."

Jack handed her the flask of water as she spoke. She took it angrily. The act seemed to make Jack even smugger than before. He smiled, a smile that never really reached his dark brown, kohl lined eyes. "That's the thing about being marooned on islands Lizzie, the water is all around you yet there is not a drop to drink."

Now Elizabeth's face was hot with anger and denial. "I was not marooned here. Will left me here to guard the chest."

Jack seemed amused. "So what has happened to the independent Lizzie I have had the immense joy in getting to know, hmm?"

Elizabeth huffed as she stood up and tossed the half full flask at Jack's chest. She seemed a bit unsteady on her feet, the black coming in at the sides of her vision at first, but she willed it away.

Jack could tell he had hit a soft spot and so he pursued the matter, jumping to his feet and strolling along beside her as she stalked over to the chest."I know dear William would have loved to have you all to himself but he can't, what with all his Dutchman duties and all. So he confined you to this spit of land by yourself? It hardly seems fair."

Jack peered at her face as the angry Elizabeth came to a halt before the chest. Her voice surprised him a bit. It came out unsure and unsteady. "He loved me Jack. I can't ask for more than that. The least I can do is protect his heart." There was a brief moment of silence before she turned to face him. She seemed amused now. "So Captain Jack Sparrow, what brings you to my little island? And without the Pearl? Did we not say our goodbyes but a day ago?"

Jack squirmed uneasily under her gaze before speaking. She seemed to be the only person he had ever met that could make him feel so unsure of himself. His hand went to the chart rolled up in his sash and his mind instinctively started working. He knew that he couldn't tell her the truth, tell her that his compass led him strait to her, refusing to point anywhere else as long as she was absent from his ship. "This little island is not so uninhabited as you would think, Lizzie. There is a little town on the other side, Dugs town, that has sailors and ships. I need to restock."

A smile graced Elizabeth's face as she spoke. "You lost the Pearl again didn't you?" Jack sent her a mock smile in response. "That still didn't answer my question though. Why are you on this side of the island if this Dugs town is on the other?"

Jack, as much as he hated to admit it, loved to see her so cunning and deductive. Not much slipped past her. But he had yet to meet someone that he couldn't fool. As he opened his mouth to respond, a loud gunshot in the distance interrupted his thoughts. Instead, Jack grabbed Elizabeth by the arm and hauled her toward the forest.

"Where are we going Jack!" She snatched up the chest with her free hand as she was dragged forward.

"Dugs island is not the most friendly of islands one can find. I am surprised that the whelp picked such a place to stow his new bride in his absence."

Elizabeth pulled free of Jack's grip. "What do you mean. He put me here far from Port Royal so that nothing could happen to me!"

Jack rolled his eyes and reached for her hand. When she avoided his grasp he sighed. "The boy forgot to do his homework. Besides Tortuga, this is the only safe haven for Pirates. Dugs town is crawling with bad dealings and drunken Pirates."

"I have had plenty of experience with Pirates," Elizabeth practically growled as she shifted her weight.

Jack reached for her hand again and this time she wasn't fast enough to avoid his grasp. "Yes. Lizzie the fearsome Pirate lass. Love, you are by far one of the trickiest, most cunning she devils to ever sail on the Caribbean. But Dugs island is crawling with the scum Pirate of the seas." He looked over his shoulder at Elizabeth. He could tell she still wasn't convinced of the danger. "Dugs Island is full of only the nastiest male pirates to sail the seas. The type of pirates that kill women and children without a second thought." He paused and turned to face Elizabeth, dropping her hand and looking deep into her brown eyes. "They will rape or kill you if they find you."

This got a response from Elizabeth. She let out a small gasp. Her free hand reached down for her sword tied at her side. Her look of surprise was replaced by a look of determination. Jack couldn't help but smile at her. That was one of the reasons he found her so...

"I thank you for your warning me Captain Sparrow, but I am more than capable of protecting myself."

"All by yourself? Lizzie, you are fearsome but not against a group of bloodthirsty, lust filled men that have nothing at all to lose."

Elizabeth held Jack's eyes for a moment, considering what he had said. With a shrug, Elizabeth spoke."Well, I suppose I will need an escort out of here now won't I." Elizabeth braced herself for Jack's response. She didn't know how the captain would feel about having her on his ship. She didn't even know what her own husband would think about it.

Jack ran his eyes over her a moment before he met her gaze once again. This time his eyes were serious. Elizabeth knew what was coming. Not too long ago when she approached him, wanting to be on his ship to find Will, there had been no hesitation with Jack. But Elizabeth knew that things were different now. She had betrayed him and things had never been the same since.

"Now what kind of gentleman would I be to leave one lovely, if not murderous Mrs. Turner alone on an island filled with just as dangerous men." Jack's comment sounded light but his voice was serious and cold.

Elizabeth recoiled as if slapped. Although she had expected no less, she was not used to hearing the always teasing and full of jokes Jack make such a response in such a cold way. There was no humor in his statement.

Jack's heart twisted painfully in his chest when he saw Elizabeth's response to his... response. But he pushed the feeling away and made forward into the forest. The only reason he knew Elizabeth to be behind him was the rustling of the brush as she followed him. Despite his lack of trust when she was around, he cared for her safety and there was never a question in his mind that he would be the one to deliver her safely out of the cursed island. But he had decided that she would never know that, could never know that. As far as he was concerned, she was a married woman, bound by love to one Mr. William Turner, also known as the whelp. He would rather have all of his rum burned away than to prove Elizabeth right by being a "good man."

Then again, he supposed he had proven her right back when he had saved her husband's life.

Truth be told, Jack never wanted to have to step foot on the island again after his last visit and the type of scum that ran around the place. But that was all the more reason the get fair Elizabeth out of there.