Jack watched Holly as she conversed with Elizabeth, smiling and clearly having a good time. "She's beautiful." Will said from beside him.
"I know." Jack smiled, looking over at his old friend.
"Do you love her?" he asked, eyeing the older man.
"Do I…" Jack stopped, eyes quickly shifting to Will. "I, uh… No, of course not. Why would you state something so ridiculous, William." He said quickly. "Gibbs, take the helm." He called, retreating down the stairs.
"Well, well, well… Captain Jack Sparrow finally has found a woman." Will said to Gibbs, grinning.
"Aye," Gibbs grinned right back at the younger man. "He's caught puppy love somethin' terrible."
"Yes. Yes, he has." Will headed for the stairs and met Elizabeth in the middle of the deck. Jack was on the other side of the ship, using his spyglass to search the beach of the island on the portside of the ship. Holly watched from behind the main mast, brown eyes looking over his body appreciatively. Jack, feeling himself being watched, turned to look for the source. Holly quickly hid behind the mast and hurried over to the opposite side of the ship from him. The last things she needed was Jack knowing how interested and curious she was about him.
Jack grinned, advancing her from behind. "You were watching me." He said quietly, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist. She melted back into his embrace, fingers lacing through his at her waist.
"No, I was not." Holly bit back a grin, thumb running over his calloused hands. All of a sudden, it dawned upon her whose arms she was in. She pulled away from him, pushing his hands back towards the body they belonged to. "I cannot do this, Jack."
Pushing the hurt look from his face, Jack quickly retorted, "What? What is it that you cannot do?"
"Us, Jack. I cannot stand the tension between us, but I cannot do this to Isabella again, nor can I do this to myself again." Tears brimmed her eyelids, but she forced herself not to let them fall.
"I won't hurt you like he did, Holly. Ye know that. Ye won't let me in." he said, pressing her back against the railing of the Pearl.
"Jack, I cannot guarantee that." She whispered, pushing back at him. "Nothing is guaranteed. Nothing."
"I know that." He said lowly. "But you must think low of me if it would even cross your mind that I would hurt you..."
"It is not just you, Jack, it's everyone I meet." She whispered, shoving him away. Jack followed, grabbing her arm.
"Do not leave me when I'm talking to you."
"I am done talking to you, Captain Sparrow." She spat, pulling her arm away quickly. Jack almost followed her, but stayed back in defeat.
"Give her a minute, Jack." Elizabeth whispered, resting her hand on his shoulder.
"I have a feeling that it will take more than a minute, love." Jack said, giving her a small, sad smile.
Holly crawled to the bow and slumped against the black, run down wood ofthe Black Pearl. Tears burned her eyes and she allowed them to fall, soaking her beautiful face. Her hair flowed freely in the wind as she upturned her face towards the hot Caribbean sun. "Mama, tell me what to do." She begged towards the sky. "Please." Opening her eyes, she was faced with a shadow of her mother's face.
"Holly, you know what to do." Her mother's voice mixed with the wind. "You've always known what to do."
"Mama, I don't and I haven't. He's just so…" she trailed off, a small smile coming to her lips. "I can't do this to Bella. I can't."
"You know the sea is no place to raise a child. You have to pick." Her mother said.
"I know. It's no question. I have to pick Bella. Jack has never wanted to be a father… why would that change now?"
"You may be surprised." Her mother smiled gently at her daughter. Suddenly, the clouds covered the sun. Warm rain let loose from the sky and began to cover the black deck of the Pearl. Holly looked down at the sea to watch the rain pelt the deep blue Caribbean waters.
"Yes." She said quietly. When she looked back up at the sky, the figure was gone. "Now I know." Holly leaned back against the wood and let the rain was over her body, clearing away the past and opening her mind, body, and soul to a new era in her life.