Chapter 13: Trust Me

Cleo and Gibbs stayed at Cleo's small home outside Tortuga. She allowed jack to visit, but forbade him from bringing Scarlett and Giselle. She did not take kindly to the two prostitutes and refused to have them anywhere near her. Joshamee and Cleo most nights alone together.

"Cleo, what are you doing?"

"Nothing. Why?"

"You look like you're up to something."

"No, I'm not up to anything. If anything I'm trying to find something to do."

"It's been a long time since you were confined to land hasn't it?"

"Too long. At least I am here with you."

"Cleo, you're unhappy here. I want you to be happy."

"As long as I am with you, I will be happy."

Gibbs smiled and pulled her away from the window. He gave her a gentle kiss and hugged her close. A knock came at the door. Cleo growled and answered the door. A man handed her a letter and walked away. Cleo opened it and began to read:

Cleo,

Jack is missing. The last time I saw him he was leaving the Faithful Bride with Giselle. Giselle returned; Jack did not. I hate to bother you with this, but I do not know what else to do. I've also heard tell that the royal navy has locked Hector in the brig and plan to hang him for treason. You must save him as well. I am counting on you and Joshamee to save my son and one of the few remaining Pirate Lords.

When Jack left the Faithful Bride, he was headed towards the docks. They plan to hang Barbossa in London. Jack is your first priority. We will meet again soon.

-Captain Teague

Cleo looked up at Gibbs and shook her head.

"I told you we'd be seeing him again."

"I knew you were right."

"What do we do, Joshamee?"

"I go look for Jack. You go to London. There's a reason Teague wants Barbossa alive, and no one can get through to him better than you can."

"I won't leave you. When I married you I promised to stay by your side until the end. Either we do this together or not at all."

"Cleo…"

"Yes?"

"You're sure about this?"

"Yes. That was a stupid question."

Gibbs sighed and didn't argue with her. She may have been his wife, but he knew well that she was stubborn and would get her way no matter what. Cleo gave him a sweet smile and led him out the door. The two travelled to the Faithful Bride as quickly as they could.

"You stand guard outside. Yell if you need me."

Gibbs nodded and allowed her to enter. Cleo stepped into the building and went down the stairs. There were many drunken pirates about, but she had expected that. She found Giselle between two unsuspecting men; her blood began to boil at the sight of them. Her bright blue eyes darkened and burned with the fires of hell. Cleo stalked over to the blonde whore and took her by the throat. The men looked startled and stayed where they were. The tavern watched Cleo drop Giselle to the floor and point a pistol at her forehead. Giselle looked around, terrified.

"There ain't no help for you, missy."

"What do you want with me? Jack isn't here."

"I can see that you twit! Do you think I'm stupid? Where is he?"

"How should I know?"

"You were the last person seen with him. Last night you left here with him and he never returned. I don't have time for the whole 'you're a liar, it never happened' run around, so tell me where you went with him."

"We went to the docks."

"What happened there?"

"We had a little 'fun' and I left after he fell asleep. Happy?"

"No. I still don't know what happened to Jack. You watch your back, missy. I might be back."

"Why would you come back?"

"Either to question you again or beat you within an inch of your life. It all depends on whether or not you've lied to me."

Cleo stowed her pistol and began to walk out.

"Wait!" Giselle called nervously.

"What?"

"I heard yelling and scuffling as I was leaving. I don't think that will help you any, but I thought you'd like to know he didn't go willingly."

"Thank you." Cleo replied. She disappeared after she spoke those words.

Outside, Cleo didn't see her husband. She called his name a few times and searched nearby alleys and shrubs. Her pistol rested in her hand; her finger on the trigger. She heard groaning in a back alley a ways from the tavern and went to investigate. A body lay motionless on the cold ground; the only sign that it was still alive was the breathing motion of its chest. Cleo knelt beside the injured person.

"Joshamee…" she whispered softly.

He seemed to recognize her voice and tried to move his head towards her. She stopped him and made him lie still. Cleo ripped a bit of cloth from her dress and dabbed at the laceration in his shoulder. He raised his hand to touch her, but his hand dropped just short of her cheek. She held pressure on his injury and lifted his hand to her cheek. Cleo took a needle and thread, which she always kept with her, out of her coat pocket and opened Gibbs's shirt to get at his wound.

"I'm not going to tell you that this isn't going to hurt, because it is. It'll help it heal."

She brushed the back of her hand across his cheek and began suturing the laceration. Gibbs groaned in pain and writhed a bit under her hands. He eventually stopped wriggling and she was able to continue. By the time she had finished, he had regained his ability to talk.

"Did you find out anything?" he asked softly.

"Don't worry about that. Do you think you can stand?"

"I might. I'll be able to make it if you help me."

"I'm going to take you to my ship. Roach and Reah will take care of you until I get back with Jack."

"I won't let you go alone."

"Fine, I'll take Darren with me. Happy?"

"The Bo'sun? He'll do just fine. If you return safely, I will be happy."

Cleo shook her head and helped him to his feet. He leaned on her until they arrived at the longboat that would take them to her ship. Gibbs lay in the foot of the boat while Cleo rowed. Upon arriving at the ship, the few remaining crew members sent down a flat bit of wood and hoisted the two onto the deck. Cleo instructed them to do anything and everything possible for him and left with Darren. Cleo and Darren searched the area surrounding the dock and found nothing. The two set off in different directions to look for the missing Jack Sparrow.

After a few hours, Cleo came across what seemed like an abandoned shack. She went around to a broken window and peered in. She saw what looked like her friend Jack tied up in a corner asleep. Cleo crawled through the window, cutting her ankle on the jagged glass in the process. She shook Jack and covered his mouth with her hand.

"Keep your mouth shut and maybe we'll get out of here alive. If you understand me, blink twice."

He did so and she removed her hand. She cut the ropes binding his hands and feet and allowed him to stand. Cleo made him go through the window first and slid out after him. The two slinked silently back to the dock and found Darren there asleep. Cleo woke him and asked him to take her and Jack back to the ship.

Back at the ship, Cleo spent most of her time with Gibbs. Jack had been taken back to his ship the morning after his rescue. The two captains had set a course for London, hoping to get there before it was too late. Neither of them wanted to disappoint Captain Teague.

It took a month and a half to reach London. Gibbs was well again, but still spent a considerable amount of time in an inn where he roomed with Cleo.

Cleo spent her days attempting to locate the prison Barbossa was being held in. Whenever she left the inn, she wore the dress of a London woman and a veil to hide her face from the world. The most wanted woman in London roamed the streets unnoticed by all the ever curious eyes. Eventually, she located the correct prison. She gained access to the cell in which Hector was kept and asked the guard to give her a moment alone with him. The guard left and Cleo knelt beside the bars where Barbossa was leaning against the wall.

"Hector Barbossa, what's been done to you?"

"Who are ye and what do ye want?"

"Do you not know my voice? Well, I didn't expect you to after so long." She replied. Cleo slowly lifted her veil and revealed her face to her former lover.

"Cleo…" he said, reaching through the bars to touch her face. He was surprised that she allowed him even that after what he had done.

"I'm here."

"Why did ye come?"

"I am here to get you out. I am under instruction from Captain Teague."

"I knew ye wouldn't have come here of yer own accord."

"I wouldn't have known you were set to hang had Teague not sent me that letter."

"Cap'n Teague sent ye, did he?"

"I could have told him that I couldn't do the job so be grateful that he did."

"Cleo, may I tell ye somethin' I realized?"

"Yes, Hector, you can."

"Everything ye have told me be true. I regret what I did to ye. I still care about ye more that ye'd ever expect."

"You know it is too late to tell me this. I have made my choice."

Barbossa looked away and sighed. Cleo reached through the bars and turned his face back towards her. He held her hand to his cheek for as long as she would allow, savoring the soft touch of her hands.

"Listen to me, Hector. Tomorrow night I will return with my crew and you will be free again."

"I wish ye didn't have to go. I don't like seein' yer pretty face covered by that veil."

Cleo smiled and shook her head. "Cap'n Barbossa, ye'll see me tomorrow night 'round this time. Goodbye for now."

"Goodbye, Cleo…" he replied, letting her hand slip slowly from his.

As she neared the door, Cleo heard her name being called again. She sighed and returned to Barbossa's cell. She found him on his feet, staring at her intently. He took her face in his hands and kissed her through the bars. Cleo was astonished and pulled back laughing. She touched his cheek one last time, lowered her veil and left.

Cleo returned to the inn and found Gibbs asleep in the bed with his teddy bear. She grinned and stripped off her dress. She slipped the teddy bear out of his arms and set it on a nearby table, and then she wriggled into his arms and fell asleep.

Gibbs awoke before his wife and was pleasantly surprised to find her naked He knew she had gotten in late the night before and decided to let her sleep. He seemed to think that she would mind being woken up just to entertain her husband's fancy. He got dressed quickly and went out in search of breakfast. A short time later, Cleo forced herself out of bed. She noticed that the room was empty and wondered where Gibbs had gone. The wind howled outside and Cleo knew it would be the perfect night for a jailbreak. She sent a message to her crew telling them where and when to meet her, and to bring a cannon from the ship.

Eventually, Gibbs returned with a few assorted food items. He found Cleo fully dressed and ready to eat. She wrapped her arms around him and gave him a kiss 'hello.'

"Cleo, what happened last night?"

"Not much. I visited Barbossa and told him what Teague wanted me to do."

"What did he say?"

"A lot of things that he knows won't change anything. He knows I am entirely yours now."

"He tried to get you back?"

"Yes, Joshamee, he did. You know better than to think that I would give in to him."

Gibbs stared at her for a moment, wondering if that was really all that had happened. Cleo could see that he didn't trust her. She hung her head and sighed.

"Why don't you trust me, Joshamee?"

"I do trust you, Cleo."

"You're lying…"

"I know about your past with him. It isn't you I don't trust, it's him."

"You don't trust him enough to be around me because you think he'll force me into something. You forget that I am stronger than I look."

"I don't doubt that-"

"Oh you don't? It seems more like you do." She interrupted, getting angrier.

"Give it up, mate, you won't win this one." A familiar voice said from the doorway.

"Close the door, Jack." Cleo growled.

"Roach is looking for you. Go meet him at the dock."

Cleo covered her face with her veil and stalked out of the room. Jack plopped himself down in a chair.

"One thing you'll learn about Cleo is that she is very stubborn. She's not like other pirates, Mr. Gibbs. She loves you, therefore, she will always be loyal to you. You must realize this."

"I don't want to lose her, Jack."

"Then don't fight with her. Trust her and don't make her think that you don't."

"Jack, I-"

"Joshamee, listen, let her do what she will. Nothing anyone says can change how she feels for you. The only person who can change how she feels is you."

Gibbs stopped trying to argue his case and nodded. Jack smiled and nodded back. He closed his eyes, covered his face with his hat and took a nap.

The day passed slowly; Gibbs got no word from Cleo. No one had seen her since she left the inn that morning. Everyone was worried except Jack. He knew that Cleo could take care of herself and that she was safe wherever she was. Gibbs was a bit angry with Jack about his attitude towards the whole thing, but said nothing to him.

Night fell, still no word from Cleo. Jack went to the prison Cleo told him about to look for her. He found her crew aiming a cannon at a wall waiting for some sort of signal. Reah explained that Cleo had entered the prison with the veil on to have a private word with the prisoner. Once the guard was gone she was to leave a dummy dressed in her clothes as a distraction after the explosion. The crew had already shoved the dummy through the bars and was awaiting her next signal. The next signal would trigger the explosion.

Jack peeked through the prison bars and watched Cleo smear the dummy with blood to make it seem like it had been injured badly by the flying debris. He found the idea clever and something he might want to employ next time he needed a means of escape. Jack also noticed how intently Barbossa watched Cleo. He was unsettled by the look in the traitor's eyes. Cleo turned to look at Barbossa and the look disappeared.

"Jack!" she called cheerfully.

"Sparrow…" Barbossa said less enthusiastically.

"Hector, be kind to him. Now, slip this through the bars and get back to this side quickly. Jack, I suggest moving back to where the crew is unless you want a hole in your torso."

Jack's face twisted into one of discomfort and he backed away quickly. Hector did as he had been instructed and backed away as well. Reah lit the fuse and covered his ears. The loud boom echoed all over London. Bits of rock scattered around. Shouts could be heard in all directions. Cleo leapt through the hole in the wall quickly and held her hand out to Barbossa. He hesitated, reluctant to touch her now.

"Come on!"

"Ye be sure about this?"

"Trust me!"

Barbossa grinned and took her hand. She hoisted him through the hole and the group took off in various directions.