A Pirate's Life for Me

By: SilverstartheWaterbender

Silverstar: Now for the island chapter. Jack and Mary will get a little closer here!

LilyBilly: I just work quickly, I guess. If you want Will, you'll have to take that up with Lizzie. Thanks for reviewing.

Wolfen-Ways: That line always cracks me up! Thanks for reviewing!

DxS Phreak: Yeah, I see what you mean. I'm just saying that Barbossa is obsessed with apples. Thanks for reviewing!

Captain's Wench: You'll find out in this chapter. Thanks for reviewing!

eternal.waves: Thanks for reviewing!

Manson: Thanks for reviewing!

Disclaimer: I don't own POTC or Toby.

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Chapter Eleven: Of Sickness and Rum

(Mary's POV)

Before long, Elizabeth, the crew, and I were all tied to the Black Pearl's mast. "Any of you so much as thinks the word 'parley,' I'll have your guts for garters!" Pintel threatened.

I smirked. "Par…" Pintel waved his gun in my face. I shut up, still grinning.

The Interceptor exploded with a terrific BOOM as Elizabeth and I slipped under our bonds. Elizabeth launched herself at Barbossa, thinking that Will was still onboard the Interceptor. "You've got to stop it!" she screeched.

Barbossa turned around and grabbed her. "Welcome back, missy! You took advantage of our hospitality last time. It holds fair now that you return the favor!" He thrust Elizabeth at a group of lusty pirates.

Toby smirked at me. "You're next."

I returned the smirk. "Not so much."

"What makes you say that?"

"Cue the whelp in three…two…one…"

"BARBOSSA!"

Will stood on the railing, gun out. "Will," Elizabeth breathed.

"That's impossible!" Toby gasped. "No one could survive that explosion!"

"Don't look at me," I said. "The writers always do situations like this, and we never know how the good guy survived."

There was confused silence for about thirty seconds. "She goes free!" Will finally shouted, jumping down.

"What's in your head, boy?" Barbossa asked.

"She goes free."

Barbossa looked at him. "You've only got one shot, and we can't die!"

"Don't do anything stupid!" Jack whispered from where Twigg and Koehler were guarding him.

Will jumped back onto the railing and pointed the gun at his jaw. "You can't…I can."

"Like that," Jack whispered. I slapped my forehead.

"Who are you?" Barbossa asked.

Jack pulled himself out of Twigg and Koehler's grasp. He and I stood in front of Barbossa. "No one," Jack answered quickly. "He's no one. A distant cousin of my aunt's…nephew…twice removed."

"He's a terrific soprano…oh wait, wrong movie. Aw, whatever, he's a eunuch."

"My name is Will Turner! My father was Bootstrap Bill Turner! His blood runs in my veins!"

I glared at Will. "Were you born like this, or are you this stupid on purpose!"

"It's the spitting image of ole Bootstrap Bill, come back to haunt us!" Ragetti called fearfully.

"On my word, do as I say, or I'll pull this trigger, and be lost to Davy Jones' Locker!" Will threatened.

Barbossa smirked. "Name your terms, Mr. Turner."

"Elizabeth goes free!"

"Yes, we know that one. Anything else?"

Will thought for a second, observing Jack's frantic pointing at himself. "And Mary! Mary goes free as well!" Collective groans from the pirates and I grinned gratefully at Will. Jack made a so-so motion before pointing to himself again. "And the crew!" Will said finally. "The crew are not to be harmed!"

Barbossa smirked, showing off the fact that dentists didn't exist in this time. "Agreed."

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"Go on, poppet! Walk the plank!" Pintel urged. Elizabeth stared down at the water, petrified.

I looked at where Will was being tied up. "Nice, eunuch. Real nice."

Will struggled against his captors and glared at Barbossa. "Barbossa, you lying bastard! You swore she'd go free!"

"Don't dare impugn me honor, boy! I swore she'd go free, but it was you failed to specify when or where!"

"You know, you overanalyze things way too much!" Honestly, he could be a lawyer.

"Though it does seem a shame we lose something so fine, don't it lads? So I'll be havin' that dress back before ye go."

"I always liked you," Jack muttered to Koehler, who grunted angrily.

Elizabeth glared and removed the dress. "Goes with your black heart," she muttered, thrusting it at him.

Barbossa pressed it against his cheek. "Ooh, it's still warm."

"This coming from the guy who can't feel anything?"

Elizabeth stared down for a little longer before Bo'sun stomped on the board. Lizzie fell in, screaming. Barbossa smiled and turned to me. "Your turn now."

I shrugged. "'Kay." I raced onto the plank and jumped off. "GERANIMO!" I hit the water with a sharp splash. I resurfaced just as Jack dove in. He came up with his pistol. I cut his binds, and the three of us swam towards the island.

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About five minutes later, we all stumbled onto shore. Jack looked back at the Pearl regretfully. "That's the second time I've had to watch that man sail away with my ship."

I stumbled onto dry land. Suddenly, dizziness swept over me again, this time stronger. I lay down, panting. I was so hot…I whimpered softly and let myself fall into the deep, dark void of unconsciousness.

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(Jack's POV)

Well, isn't this a wonderful situation! Now we're all trapped on this bloody island and Barbossa has my ship! Stupid bloody whelp! BUGGER!

I was jerked out of my thoughts by Elizabeth rushing over. "What happened?" I asked, standing.

"It's your friend…Mary, was it?"

I felt me blood chill. "Aye…what happened?"

"I don't know…I was taking a walk when I saw her lying on the sand…I think she's unconscious!"

I remembered back to when Mary collapsed on the Pearl. I knew she shouldn't have left the cell! Elizabeth andrushed over to where Mary was lying on the ground. I stopped short, staring in shock. "God above!"

Mary was breathing hard and sweating like mad. Her skin was pale. I touched her forehead, but jerked my hand back – she's burning up! "Mary?" I whispered, tapping her shoulder. She responded with a soft whimper. "Mary!" I pressed her limp form against me. Maybe if she feels something, she'll wake up.

Elizabeth knelt down beside us. "I've seen this before with one of our maids…I think Mary has heat exhaustion."

Heat exhaustion?! "Will she be all right?" I asked trying to keep my voice calm.

"Maybe, if we treat her right away."

"How can we treat her?! Thanks to that display from your eunuch friend, we're stuck on a deserted island!"

Elizabeth's lips tightened. "We may not be able to give her medicine, but we can look after her until help arrives."

"What do you suggest we do then?"

Elizabeth scanned the island. "Bring her over to that shady spot under those trees." She walked over to the clearing near the hidden rum cache. I picked up Mary and followed. Mary stirred and whimpered again. "Easy, luv," I murmured. "Everything's going to be all right." I wasn't sure if she could hear, but saying the words out loud helped me believe them.

I put her down in the shade. Elizabeth grabbed her hat and handed it to me. "Here – go fill this with seawater."

I smiled weakly. "Her hat? I don't think she'll be too happy if –"

"Do it!"

I raced to the water's edge and dunked the hat under. Once it was full, I rushed back, careful not to spill any. Suddenly, I had a wonderful idea. I dumped the water onto Mary's face.

Elizabeth glared at me. "Why did you do that?"

"To cool her down."

Elizabeth sighed and snatched the hat out of my hands. She walked down to the water's edge. Wait…she's going to cool Mary down by sponging her face with seawater! But what can we use for a rag? Maybe…of course! I ripped off a piece of my sleeve as Elizabeth came back. She took the cloth, giving me grudging thanks, and dipped it in the water. She then opened Mary's mouth slightly and wrung out the cloth over Mary's mouth. Water poured in, quenching her thirst.

I raised an eyebrow. "Is that best for her?"

"It's all we've got," Elizabeth answered, sponging Mary's face. I thought of the rum, but remembered that alcohol would only make her worse.

When Elizabeth was finished, Mary's eyes slowly opened. "Jack…" she said hoarsely.

"Sh," I whispered, brushing a strand of hair back from her face. "You need to sleep now, luv. I'll keep you safe. Promise."

Mary gave a tiny nod and closed her eyes once more. I watched her for a long time before walking back to the beach.

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(Mary's POV)

When I woke up, it was dark and considerably cooler. I felt much better, but incredibly thirsty. I staggered down to the shoreline and took a long drink. Disgusting, but I remembered that my only other option – rum – wouldn't help my sickness, whatever it was.

I suddenly noticed the bonfire. Slowly getting to my feet, I stumbled over just in time to hear Jack say, "To the Black Pearl!"

I thought quickly; I wanted to talk to Jack before he passed out. "Jack," I said. My voice sounded weak and small.

Jack turned his head. "Mary...Mary! You're all right!" He stood, lurched over, and locked me in an embrace. I was too shocked and weak to return the hug.

Elizabeth stood. "Mary," she said in voice that suggested that she was very bad at pretending to be drunk, "what are you doing up? You need to rest."

"I will; I just had to see if you guys were okay. I feel better, actually. What was wrong with me?"

"Heat exhaustion. You've apparently been working hard in the hot sun for days with little food or rest. You need to be more careful!"

I nodded, remembering how scary that felt.

"This calls for a drink!" Jack announced, and drained his bottle. He promptly collapsed, out cold.

I sighed. "If it isn't one thing, it's another. Is he gonna be okay?"

"He'll be fine; he's just sleeping off the rum. Mary, you need to go back and rest."

"Won't you need help making a signal?"

Lizzie's eyes widened. "How did you – oh, never mind, I can manage. We can't afford you getting sick again!"

I rolled my eyes but nodded. I started walking back, but decided to thank my other rescuer. I knelt down beside Jack and whispered, "Thanks for taking care of me, Jack." Jack stirred but didn't wake. Reluctantly, I made my way back to the clearing.

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I woke the next morning to the smell of smoke and Jack's frantic shouts. "No! Not good! Stop! Not good! What are you doing? You burned all the food, the shade; the rum!"

I staggered to the fire just as Elizabeth said, "Yes, the rum is gone."

"Why is the rum gone?"

"ONE, because it is a vile dink that turns even the most respectable men into complete scoundrels, two, that signal is over a thousand feet high! The entire Royal Navy is out looking for me; do you really think that there would be even the slightest chance they wouldn't see it?!"

I chuckled. "And for those of you at home, that was a rhetorical question."

Jack looked at me for a moment, relief in his eyes. Then he turned back to Elizabeth. "But why is the rum gone?!"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and sat down. "Just wait, Captain Sparrow. Give it one hour, maybe two. Keep a weather eye open and you'll see white sails on the horizon."

Jack pulled out his pistol, thought better of it, and stormed off. "Jack!" I called. He kept going. "Wait up!" I started racing after him. Unfortunately, I still felt terrible, and had to stop several times. After about ten minutes, I caught him. "Jack, listen, I –"

SMACK!

Before I knew what had happened, I was on the ground again, hand on my stinging cheek. Jack stood over me, anger gleaming in his eyes. But soon, that anger turned to shock. "Mary, I…bugger, I'm sorry Mary! I thought you were Elizabeth!"

"It's okay," I whispered, standing.

"No, it's not. I've been completely neglectful of your condition." He looked away. "I don't want you to get any worse…"

I looked at him for a long time before answering. "Jack, really, I'm not mad. To tell the truth, I probably would've done the same thing. And don't worry, I feel f…" Another wave of dizziness took over me. I swayed slightly, moaning. Jack wrapped his arms around me. "Mary, you need to relax! All this exertion could kill you!"

I smiled weakly. "Jack…I think the best thing is to get me aboard the Dauntless?"

"Get you aboard…?" Jack looked out to sea, and then back to the bonfire. "They'll be no living with her after this."

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Silverstar: That took a while. R&R!