Ch 10

Jack opened his eyes and was greeted by the bright morning sun. He found his muscles stiff from a night spent on the soft but harsh ground of the tree guarded beach. He grunted, the memories of his current position coming back to him. He was trapped on a God forsaken spit of land and that was decidedly the last position he wanted to be in.

But memories of the past night came back to him as well. He and Elizabeth had had a great time together, in many ways like the first time they were marooned on an island. There was rum, singing and careless abandon. In many ways it was different too. Elizabeth was a married woman this time around and, most importantly, he didn't wake to the sight of Elizabeth burning his rum.

He felt something stir beside him. Ah, so his position was not all bad. He looked down and was greeted by the sight of a rather beautifully peaceful Elizabeth. She was curled up into his side, her face buried into the crook of his neck and her left hand gently placed over his bound up wound. He couldn't help the smile that came to his lips, although he was sure she would find this situation anything but entertaining when she woke.

He could see just how it would go. She would wake up, blinking sleepily into the bright morning sun, lift her beautiful brown eyes to look at him and then... he would have the fury of the fierce pirate king Lizzie to deal with. Oh yes, he could see it clearly. Of course, all the blame would rest squarely on his shoulders. Yes, because there could be no way that Elizabeth could have gotten in such a position by herself. Although that was exactly what happened.

Well, not today, love. I will not be accused of that which I would love more than anything but hold back from for naught but your honor. He began thinking of a way to gently untangle himself from her limbs, while at the same time trying not to wake her, settle the wanderings of his imagination and convince himself that holding back for her honor did not make him a 'good man' as she so often claimed him to be. After all, it was quite an unfair thing to have to throw away such a golden opportunity. And pirates were not known as "good men." He did have a reputation to keep.

Just as he thought he had found a way to squirm out of her awkward and accidental embrace, she mumbled something that stopped him cold. "Freedom... the Black Pearl is..."

Jack stopped breathing and resettled himself beside her. If she was going to talk in her sleep so close, there was really no need to hold back from listening.

"Mikan... please..." She started to tremble beside him, her once peaceful look broken by some sort of bad dream.

Jack found himself reaching for her cheek, gently tracing a finger over the bruise. He told himself that he was just trying to see if its condition had improved, even as his slender, rough fingers ran along her jaw line and up into a wisp of golden brown hair.

She seemed to relax at his touch, letting out a long sigh as her face relaxed into somewhat of a peaceful position again. Jack noticed her recovery and sighed himself. He did not still his fingers. They continued their lazy patterns in her hair. He found he rather enjoyed twisting each curl and wisp around his fingers. And curse him but he found he more than liked the way she seemed to fit perfectly into the crook of his neck.

He pulled his hand away as if burned. He had been with many, many women. Surely all pirate and sailor alike had. But none more than Captain Jack Sparrow. Why, then, did he feel such a protective appreciation for the beauty beside him? Why was it that he had been without the company of pleasing women ever since he met Elizabeth and even the thought of spending time with them paled in comparison to the time he would love to spend with her? And why did the thought of spending the time with her the same way he did with those other numerous women appeal little?

He snorted. Sure, he would love nothing more than that type of company with her but he found himself holding back. That puzzled him. Surely he could have her. Who would turn away the legendary Captain Jack Sparrow? In fact, he found that that particular 'activity' was farther back in his mind when he spent time with her. He found himself thinking more of her cunning mind, much like his own, the way her determination and love of the sea shone so brightly, the way her laugh sounded as the sea breezes danced with it.

She was a witch, he decided. That had to be it. No women had ever caused him to think in such a way. In poetic theme and observation? He snorted again. Captain Jack was not some stuffed shirt whelp that pranced around after women to please them with such things. Oh no. They came to him. That was how it was and how it should stay. He didn't need bloody things like that to be looked at and approved by women. And since when did he seek any woman's approval?

To his dismay, memories of his times with Elizabeth came to him. Now when, another side of him asked, have you ever done anything in her presence not painfully aware of her gaze and wanting to please her? He found not one time. When she was around him he always thought of her and what she thought of him.

No, this wouldn't do. This wouldn't do at all. He cursed out loud as he had to pull his hand away from her hair again. He stood up angrily. She seemed to whimper a bit from the loss. He moved to walk out to the beach and out of the cover of the trees and bushes. He froze when he heard her speak again.

"Will..."

Pain slammed him. A bitter taste came into his mouth. Ah, yes. The whelp. She was thinking he had been the whelp, the Captain of the Flying Dutchman. And she missed him. She was married to him after all.

That thought kept him walking to the beach and fueled his action as he built a large bonfire. The rest of his crew was most likely not but an hour away. They would have pursued soon after they woke from their drunken stupor. They would need a signal to find him. Elizabeth proved this tactic very effective last time they were marooned together. He found himself dreading the company of Elizabeth on his ship for the first time in his life. Because surely what she was doing to him was irreversible. And that irreversible thing, that undeniable feeling, could never come to be.

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Elizabeth shifted in the midst of her dream, rolling onto her back. A sharp pain pulled her out of sleep. Confused, she sat up, looking behind her at what she had laid on. It was a beautiful stone, shimmering beautifully in the early light.

A small smile crept onto Elizabeth's face as she picked up the stone with her free hand. She rubbed the sore spot on her back with her other hand while examining the way the green edges of the stone reflected the light. It really was a breathtaking stone. The first thing that came to Elizabeth's mind was that the stone was jade. She wasn't quite sure where that could be found but that was the only stone with such a green color that she had ever seen.

Her smile dropped away as the use of the muscles in her face caused her bruise to throb. She tucked the stone away in her belt to show Jack later. She was sure that the treasure loving pirate could identify it for her.

Elizabeth stood slowly, making her way towards the beach. She was startled to see a large fire in the sand, a pillar of smoke climbing lazily and black into the sky. She spotted Jack, hands on his hips, staring off at the approaching ship on the horizon. She observed his profile as she approached him.

He seemed dazed, his gaze directed out on the sea but not really seeing it. His frame was motionless and his torso was clothed once again. She noticed he stiffened as she approached and wondered why. Everything had seemed fine the night before, better than fine as far as she could tell, especially considering their position. And with his crew, for surely that was who was coming, so close to retrieving them, there should be no need for worry. Unless it was not his crew.

This thought had her at his side quickly. "Who is coming?"

Jack didn't face her and his voice was all business when he spoke. "It's the Pearl's crew aboard the Song. I am glad to see Mikan didn't destroy it when he took us away."

Elizabeth came around to face him. "Jack, what's wrong?"

Jack's eyes finally focused on her and she could tell that his smile was forced, void of the warmth it held last night. "Nothi'n love. I am glad to be free of this island and anxious to be back on the open sea." His eyes had glanced down at the bruise on her cheek as he spoke but as soon as he was done speaking his eyes were right back out onto the sea.

The crew dropped anchor and reached the shore within the hour, a rather frazzled looking Gibbs climbing out of the longboat to meet Jack. "Captain! It is a relief to find ye well. You too Miss. Elizabeth." His face dropped as he saw the bruise on her jaw. He opened his mouth to inquire but Jack cut him off.

"Mr. Gibbs, I assume you took good care of the crew in my absence." Gibbs held the boat as Elizabeth and Jack climbed in.

"It was near chaos without you sir. While we sail with good honest men, the loss of you sent us all into a hardly controlled panic."

Jack fixed Gibbs with a look over his shoulder. "This was after you all broke free of your hangovers I imagine."

Gibbs smiled nervously. "Aye. It was a night of celebration."

"And I expected no less. Now let's get back to the Song if you please."

Elizabeth studied Jack's stiff back the whole row back to the Song. Gibbs was the only one talking, going on about how thankful he was to find the two of them safe and sound and how he wished Jack could tell him all of what happened. They climbed up onto the deck of the Song and received many a relieved glance and smile. Everything about Jack as he shouted orders to the crew was how she remembered him when they first met. It unnerved her. Because when they had first met, they didn't know each other. He was just a pirate she had dreamed of meeting and she was just a silly, weak governor's daughter.

She knew something had happened with Jack. Somehow something had happened between them. She tried to ignore it, telling herself that surely it was best that way. They were getting so close before and she was opening up in a way that she never had with Will. It was for the best that they add some distance between each other for Will's sake.

It will be different when Will returns, she told herself as she wandered into the captain's cabin to check on the heart. It was still there, beating in the chest. She slid it under the bed and sat down, hanging her head in her hands. The placement of her hand caused her to wince. She had forgotten about the bruise. Tears came into her eyes from the pain and the growing frustration. Yes, things may be different when Will returns but that does not change the fact that he will only be with me for a day, she reminded herself as the tears started to fall.

She found she could not stop them and so when Kole knocked on her door to summon her for a morning meal, she turned him away. She did not want to be seen by the crew as a sniveling, crying girl. She was the pirate king and a woman of the sea. She treasured her position on the ocean more than she thought she could love and treasure anything. She knew that her time on the water should make her happy, distract her from her predicament.

She realized, with a great bit of alarm, how easy it was for her mind to wander back to such grim thoughts with Jack acting so different. It threw her off, just like when they were coming back from Davey's locker with him. He had been cold and distant to her then. While this time, this day, he wasn't angry with her she was sure, he was distracted and purposely brief with her. It was still a startling change, one she was sure was because of Mikan.

"I have caused Jack and his crew so much trouble already," she whispered. "It is time I left. The life that Jack leads is dangerous enough. My presence only draws more to him, specifically Mikan and his ties to the East India Trading Company, a very threat to his way of life."

Her fingers pulled out the stone she had found on the beach. She had forgotten all about it. By the position of the light as it came through the small window, she could tell she had also forgotten to keep track of time. The sliver of remaining sunlight was long and strong. Night must be quickly approaching. When she searched her subconscious, she remembered someone knocking on her door another time, must have been afternoon, and she had ignored the person there. That must have been a call for food again.

She shook her head and tossed the stone up into the air. It really is a pretty stone, she thought. I wish I could keep in with me always, in a safe place.

A gentle knock pulled her out of her thoughts. She decided not to answer. She already felt terrible about avoiding the crew for the day and to see the crew again would be painful, knowing that she would leave them soon. She wasn't sure how much more heartbreak she could take.

When she didn't speak, she was startled to see the door open. Jack stood there, the now orange, soft glow of the setting sun filling the space behind him in the doorway. He didn't say a word, just stepped inside quietly. He shut the door behind him and made his way to her.

Elizabeth held the stone tightly as he sat next to her on the bed. Her heart was beating much faster than she would like to admit. She didn't meet his gaze, although she could tell he looked her over for quite some time before he spoke. "The crew tells me that you haven't been out to eat."

Elizabeth felt a sinking in her heart. The way he spoke to her was very impersonal. It wasn't he that noticed her lack of eating; it was word from the crew. She shrugged and kept her eyes trained on the floorboards.

Silence enveloped them. Elizabeth felt it comfortable, despite the circumstance. She never felt judged around him. She felt almost as if she were his equal in battle and in his company. Will always seemed to shelter her during a battle, by her side and never out if his sight. He always tried to prove things to her too. While she appreciated the companionship and care he had for her, she felt that he still didn't trust her.

That thought made her slump more in her seat, her mind forgetting about the fact that Jack was in the room. She and Will had been married in the heat of battle. There had been so much left in the open, never taken care of. Will had betrayed so many people and she felt that she couldn't really trust him. She did know that she could depend on him to take care of her, but at what price? He had told her that he couldn't trust her as well and was trust not one of the biggest building blocks to every relationship.

"Elizabeth..." Jack's gentle voice and the use of her full name startled her out of her thoughts once again. She blushed a bit.

"I am sorry Jack. I have been thinking."

He smiled his cockeyed grin. "Ah. Perhaps you should be rid of that hobby."

Elizabeth couldn't help but smile. She tried to scowl over it. "Why thank you for the suggestion. You are quite the gentleman."

Jack stood before her and bowed. She moved to punch him lightly in the arm. He caught her wrist with ease. He looked curiously at her clenched fist. "What do you have there Lizzie?"

Elizabeth jerked her hand out of his grasp. "I found it on the island." She held it up for his examination and could see the way his eyes lit up. "I was going to ask you about it but you seemed... distracted."

Jack looked past the stone to meet her eyes. What she saw there scared and amazed her. She could recognize sadness and some regret. But there was something else there, something she had seen before but couldn't place. His eyes seemed darker than she had ever seen them.

She couldn't help a gasp as he took a step towards her. He took the stone from her hand and she found that she didn't resist him. She was caught in his eyes by some form of sorcery. It seemed that she couldn't do much of anything when he looked at her in the way he was. She was horrified and thrilled to feel herself take a step toward him, closing any remaining space between them. She felt it was the only thing to do. She felt an irresistible urge to touch his skin. It was so beautifully sun kissed.

Before she could talk herself out of it, her hand brushed his arm, coming to rest on the side of his face. She felt Jack stiffen a bit, heard his sharp intake of breath. "Elizabeth." He spoke her name more softly than she had ever heard him speak.

Suddenly, he stepped back, away from her. His eyes turned cold and sadness blotted out whatever else was there. She heard herself whimper at the loss of contact, even though she knew that he had done what she should have been able to do. His eyes were still glued to hers. It seemed to take some effort for him to tear them away to look at the gem in his hand.

Elizabeth shook the growing feeling away. It would only make her leaving that much harder. She waited for him to speak. When he did, she was surprised. "I will need all hands on deck tomorrow love." His voice seemed raw and rough. "The weather is acting up. I am sure we will run into a storm before we reach land."

Elizabeth nodded and forced a smile. "I apologize for hiding out here all day. I guess I lost track of time."

Jack opened the door. "There is a lot on your mind I imagine. A lot has happened."

With that, he walked out of the cabin. Elizabeth let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding and sank back down onto the bed. It wasn't until she started to drift off to sleep that she remembered Jack had her stone.