A/N: Hello, everybody. I apologize if the wait was longer than I let on, but I got busy and stuff…yeah. So, I promised a loner chapter this time, then re-read my story and realized Chapter Four was short, so for your enjoyment, I blended it with Chapter Five, hence, this IS a long chapter after all. YAY! Hope you enjoy it.
And Thanks to all my lovely reviewers.
Disclaimer: I don't want to talk about it.
It was cold, and she was shivering, but Elizabeth didn't know hoe long she'd been huddled in the ammunition hold. Water was sloshing around the floor, hitting barrels and splashing seawater into the nasty cut on her arm. Her fingers were covered in dried blood from trying to stem the flow, but the cut was still trickling. Her wrist was swollen black and blue, and throbbing.
She'd been torturing herself for hours, wondering if anyone would come looking for her. She mostly assumed it would be Will, Will who was always there, always thinking she needed 'rescuing'. She couldn't even imagine how angry he would be…but something told her he would love her, that he would easily find a way to explain her little indiscretion and love her as he always had. And she'd end up going with him…marrying him. It was thoughts like these that almost made her sick. She knew now, more than ever, that she could never be happy with William Turner.
Not when she remembered how she'd felt in Jack's arms, how she'd ached fro him to touch her, anticipated every movement of his hands with feverish excitement. Not when she knew that, much as if scared her, that she loved him.
She loved Jack. She'd never admitted that to herself before now, never allowed herself these thoughts, these feelings. Mostly because they frightened the bloody hell out of her. Her final acceptance of her true feelings brought on the old, irritating feeling of tears in her eyes.
She couldn't love Jack. He was like a knife poised dangerously above her heart, waiting for her to give in, to take that one fatal step, so he could cut her. She knew he wanted her…she could see the lust in his smoldering eyes…but was that it? She didn't even dare hope he felt anything else for her, and it was that that made her afraid to simply sacrifice everything just to be hurt. It just might kill her.
And yet…she loved him anyway. She loved his brilliance, his cockiness, the comical way he looked at the world. It thrilled her, the way he touched her, took control of her, knew her. She loved him, and she wanted him in everyway.
He didn't even comprehend the extent of his power over her…
One of the barrels suddenly rolled across the floor, knocking a pile of rags into the water. Seawater splashed all over her, drenching her wound, and she yelped, half in shock; half in pain.
"Elizabeth?" someone called softly. She turned her head in the wrong direction uneasily, trying to discern who it was.
Someone sat down on her other side, making her jump, and gently pushed up her sleeve, she swallowed and turned slowly, certain she was going to have to deal with an irate Will, and stopped speechless.
It was Jack.
He sat cross-legged beside her, calmly examining her sword wound.
"Nasty cut," he muttered, pulling her sleeve back down easily. "Ye'll have wash it out, and bind it up good. Wouldn't want it to get infected."
Elizabeth nodded, still a bit thunderstruck. She swallowed again, her mouth cottony and dry, trying to find her voice.
"W-what happened?" she asked shakily. Jack grunted.
"Well, love," he started, "there's no need for these." He wiped tears away gingerly with his thumbs. "Master Turner, regrettably, will live."
Elizabeth touched her face where his hand had been, not sure how to react to the tidings.
"How…bad is it?" she asked. Jack gave her a quick glance, as if sizing her up. She got the impression he wasn't sure if she would get angry or not.
"His face isn't, ah, quite so pretty anymore. Shame, really, considering it was the only physical part of him capable of wooing a lass…yes, he's decidedly banged up." Jack fell silent for a short moment. "He's damn lucky." Jack added in a lower voice, glaring sourly at the other side of the ship.
Elizabeth turned towards Jack, not knowing what to say. He gave her a fleeting smile and took her hand, examining her wrist.
"Broken, I'd bet me rum on it. Not to worry though, love, I can fix that." He kissed the swollen wrist impulsively and she gave him a weak smile. "I'll bind it for ye meself." He offered, bending her fingers gently. Elizabeth watched him playing with her fingers, chewing her lip.
"I suppose you'd better." She acquiesced quietly. Jack stood and pulled her with him, careful of hurting her wrist. He took her other hand in a flamboyantly formal way and led her towards the stair.
"Allow me to escort you to the doctor's cabin then, Miss Swann."
Elizabeth followed him up the stairs to the deck with a sinking feeling in her stomach, the smile he'd brought to her lips with his comment fading. She dreaded facing the curious crew. Once they reached the deck though, she noticed not many of them paid attention past a glance or a gesture. She didn't see Will anywhere, and was grateful for it.
Jack led her back into the cabin and motioned for her to sit on the bed while he rummaged around in his drawers. He finally came up with two relatively clean bandages and some kind of disinfectant and sat down next to Elizabeth. He pushed up her sleeve again and administered the liquid to the wound, using it to clean out the dried blood and dirt. It burned almost as bad as saltwater, and Elizabeth flinched away.
"Sorry." Jack grunted, letting his fingers slip against her skin as her bandaged up the cut. "You all right?" he asked, reaching for her wrist without looking up.
"It hurts." Elizabeth answered shakily, cursing herself for sounding so weak. Jack held her wrist gingerly, but firmly at the same time, and she looked at his slightly bent head questioningly.
"Mmmm…it's going to hurt like hell." He warned. She watched him hesitate for the slightest moment ad stroke her palm before wrenching her wrist sharply in one direction, producing a resounding crack. Elizabeth cried out in shock and pain as a spasm of almost unbearable pain shot up her entire arm.
"Jack…ah…" she whimpered, collapsing against him, her head falling against his shoulder. Her wrist throbbed angrily. "Oh, god." She moaned.
Jack stroked her hand, letting her cry on his shoulder as he bound her wrist tightly in place. She didn't life her head when he returned his hand to her. He reached up and cupped her chin gently, surprised to see how pale her face was.
"You look like a bloody ghost, Lizzie." Jack commented, touching her cheek with his thumb. "I'm sorry I hurt you." He apologized. Elizabeth put her hand over his and pressed her lips against his palm.
"Jack…will you let me stay with you tonight?" she asked quietly, suddenly tired and eager not to be alone.
Jack's eyebrows shot up and he tilted his head at her with a roguish grin. Elizabeth's cheeks colored.
"Just…to sleep. Please." She said tiredly, looking down from him.
"Ah," was all Jack said. "Yer always welcome in me bed, Lizzie." He whispered in her ear.
Elizabeth looked back up at him, her lips shaking, and he met her with a kiss, pulling her close, gentler this time.
"Cap'n. CAP'N!" screamed an urgent voice from the deck, a very unwelcome interruption. Jack jerked away from Elizabeth and made a low growling noise in the back of his throat. He stormed out of the cabin, banging the door behind him, and she heard him start shouting furiously the next moment.
Elizabeth touched her wrist gingerly, her lips still tingling from Jack's kiss. She loosened her hair from its constraints and let it fall to her shoulders; she leaned back, taking a deep breath to steady her breathing, and slipped under the covers. Elizabeth, tears stinging her eyes for what felt like the thousandth time that night, turned her head into Jack's pillow and silently cried herself to sleep.
I stole that bit from 'King Arthur' (Jerry Bruckheimer's version) in the movie; Clive Owen (King Arthur) sets Guinivere's (Keira Knightly's) fingers back after they're broken. Good scene. Good movie. You should watch it.
And, you should review!! ;)
