Chapter 8

Dear Lord in Heaven...

"Love does not consist in gazing at each other but in looking outward together in the same direction."---- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Meanwhile:

Jack Sparrow had been kicked out of the mansion when the door-man discovered that Jack, was in fact, not Emma's uncle...as he had claimed to be.

After being thrown out into the snow without so much as a harsh word, he was forced to find an alternative means of entering the Wallace Estate. That meant the back way.

With a heavy sigh, he half walked/half pranced along the side of the large mansion, glancing at every window to see if it was open. But as fate would have it, none were open, forcing him to reach the far end of the large mansion. After stepping over the snow covered shrubbery, he reached the veranda. Two French doors stood before him, beckoning to him. With a slight grin of self-pride, he reached for the handles.

Locked.

" Damn house," he muttered, glaring at the glass doors. What did they have everything closed up for? Did they really think that some villain, say...a pirate, would try to break in? Really...let's be logical!

Giving a sigh, he wiped away the ice crystals that had formed over the glass doors and then he peered inside. After a moment, he saw a figure turn a corner and head for the exact doors he was standing at. His eyes widened and he quickly ducked out of site, hiding behind a rather large shrub near the doors.

Holding his breath, he hoped that whoever it was would quickly disappear. He glanced to the doors as they opened.

All the air he was holding in his lungs seemed to double and explode inside of him.

Emma Wickerson had just stepped outside!

Her Italian heals clicked against the stone beneath her as she glided to the stone railing that overlooked the snow covered courtyard. Tears had stained her cheeks and her shoulders were slumped in partial defeat as she clung to the railing as though her life depended on it. She bowed her head, closing her eyes in concentration.

All Jack could do was watch in awe as the woman who had haunted his every thought and memory stood crumbled and lost before him in the falling snow.

It seemed like in the time that she stood there, a million thoughts of how he should make his presence known came storming into his mind. But no matter the thought, he just couldn't seem to get his feet to move. He was paralyzed.

And it seemed like an eternity before her hunched form stood straight. She looked up at the sky and sighed. Then she said something. It was faint, but the cold wind couldn't hide the words from Sparrow's ears.

" Oh Jack... I wish you were here."

His eyes widened and his oxygen supply was cut off. If that wasn't a shock enough, the next thing she did was. The last time he had seen her was eleven years prior, when she had been a young lady, coming into her womanhood. Now, as he saw her turn towards him, he could see that every facial feature was carved perfectly. Her blue eyes were dull in her pale dress, accentuating her now very mature and beautiful face. The moonlight highlighted her dark curly hair, and he was so overwhelmed with her beauty in that moment that he actually couldn't breathe.

She was there. He was there. It was seemingly impossible, yet not.

Suddenly, reality reinhabitated his mind when he saw her reach for the double French doors. She was leaving!

He opened his mouth to speak, but stopped when he saw her yank on the handles. He smirked. The girl had locked herself out.

" It seems we have the same luck, luv." The words had left his mouth before he could stop them. He had meant to be more witty, maybe charming. But no...he had to let his words rush off before he could catch them!

Those words, however, had the same affect on her as any other phrase would have. She was frozen, her hand on the door handle, her eyes wide and her heart beating wildly. Jack couldn't even see her breathing.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she turned.

Eyes locked and hearts stopped instantly.

Will quickly walked onto the Black Pearl and shivered uncontrollably. He'd spent almost all day searching for his old home, and when he found it, it had been taken down and been replaced with a fish market. Not exactly the most welcoming thing to see.

Shaking his head, he entered his room on the ship and quickly shut the door. The last thing he needed was to bring in more freezing air into the already frozen room.

" Jack wont mind if I head off to an Inn for the night..." he thought to himself, grabbing an undershirt by his bed. " I'll just leave him a note."

He was actually standing three feet away from her. The same pirate captain she had loved for over eleven years. The same pirate captain she thought she would never see again.

He was right there. Black eyes, hat, hair, coat...everything was how it was, and she couldn't stop the tears that fell down her face.

" Jack..." she breathed, her own voice sounding foreign to her. Before he could respond, she took a step toward him and raised a hand.

Jack, taking the movement as hostile, winced. But he was soon very surprised to feel her soft, delicate palm pressed against his whiskered cheek. He had expected a cold, harsh slap like he often received... but instead he received a loving embrace.

His eyes popped open and he looked down into her moist eyes with amazement in his own.

" Jack..." she said again, sniffling slightly. " I...I'm so sorry, Jack. All these years...I've waited for you. I...I just can't believe you're really here..." Then she bowed her head and dropped her hand from his cheek. She felt ashamed and embarrassed, having the one thing in reach...that she could probably never have.

" Emma," he said at last, taking her chin and pulling it up so her gaze would lock with his. " If anyone should be sorry, luv...it would be Captain Jack Sparrow."

A faint smile tugged at the corners of her mouth when she heard this. The next thing she knew, he had his arms around her in a warm hug...or had it been the other way around? It all happened so fast she didn't know...nor did she care.

She was holding him. The captain that she loved.

Rebecca frowned as she watched the last couple exit the large ball room for the dining hall. If Emma didn't show up soon, she would have to go and find her. Rebecca just hoped that Emma had finally come to a decision...the right decision anyway.

Twisting her gloved hands nervously, she made her way to the hall where Emma had been sitting. When she found it empty, she began to worry.

" Where could she have gone?" she wondered, peering down the hall in both directions. She figured Emma would have headed away from the crowds, so she walked down the empty hallway towards the courtyard.

She seemed to have disregarded the heavy gaze that followed her from the doorway.

Emma pulled away after a long moment and sighed.

" I've missed you, Jack," she said with a little more strength.

Jack grinned. " 'Course ya have, luv. What's not to miss?"

She laughed, almost frightened at the old feeling, and shook her head. " How did you get here?... How did you know?"

" I got here by the Pearl, luv, and an ol' friend told me yer getting married," his nose crinkled as he added the last part to the sentence.

" I was..." she corrected with a flash of anger in her eyes.

Jack's eyebrows arched at that. " How's that?"

" Well...I've decided to live my own life, Jack. Not my mother's or Owen's...but my own," she said with her gaze fixed on the snow-covered gardens behind Jack. " There's so much out there to see. I just can't accept being caged into the social world forever. I want freedom..."

Her words releaved him considerablly. Everything she had admitted were the things he was going to confront her about. Thankfully, he didn't have to preach it to her!

" Emma..." he said, his tone very serious. She looked up into his dark eyes and her breath halted. " I want you to leave with me---"

She nodded.

" ---because I need you on my ship again----"

" Yes, Jack!"

" ---Without you, I'm an absolute wreck! Jist ask Will!---"

" Alright, Jack!"

" --I mean, I need someone who can actually MAKE Salmagundi. Gibbs is a horrid excuse for a cook---"

" Yes, Jack!"

"---and I jist want you to...yes?"

She laughed and threw her arms around him again.

" Yes, Jack. I want to go with you..."