A/N: (Hey guys! I'm back! Thanks for reading! Thanks for the reviews sweeties! Ya know who you are! Hope you like this chapter and before-hand sorry for the fluff! Laterz! -Writing Fairy-
Chapter 14, Fan-FREAKING-Tastic...
Jack dove into the crashing waves after his pistol. At the rate his...vacation...stay...imprisonment...on J. Sparrow Island was going he'd need it before he starved. Not that he was gonna use it on Elizabeth or anything honorable like that. It was time for rum. Desi'd be proud...
I felt-I felt cold. I felt-I felt like if I just...let go...I'd be okay. But I knew better than that. I mean, come-freaking-on! Who doesn't know the white light thing? You've gotta be some kinda imbecile to not know the white light thing. Grr. Life sucks. Death sucks worse. Choice made!
So, with that thought in mind, I pushed myself harder than I've ever pushed myself in my life. But I was supposed to die. I knew it from the moment my fingers unclenched from the palm of my hand.
I started to shake.
"That's the second time I've had to watch that man sail away with my ship." Jack commented soggily from the shore line of J. Sparrow Island a.k.a. hell. But the funny thing is? That's not even close to what he meant. Translation: God dammit, I need that boat to find Desi! That bastard! When I get my hands on him...!
"But you were marooned on this island before, weren't you, so we can escape it the same way you did then!" Elizabeth protested as Jack stalked off into the palm tree forest.
"To what point and purpose young missy?" Jack spat at her, "The Black Pearl's gone. Unless you have a rudder and a lot of sails hidden in the bodice." He paused, looked openly at her chest disdainfully, "Not likely. Young mister Turner will be dead long before you reach him." Translation: Elizabeth. Shut. Up. There is NOTHING I can do for Desi and all you are bloody doing is making me feel a whole hell of lot worse!
"You're Captain Jack Sparrow!" Elizabeth informed him, protesting, as he randomly thumped his knuckle on unspectacular trees and stamped his foot in the sand. She swung herself around the tree he was for some very unknown reason rapping his knuckles against and continued, irritated, "You vanished from under the eyes of seven agents of the East Indian company," She followed him, leaving the tree behind as he took overlarge steps through the sand looking like the brilliant idiot he was, "You sacked Nausou port without even firing a shot," She got up close to him and demanded, "Are you the pirate I've read about or not?" They were both silent for a few moments before Lizzie asked quietly, "How did you escape last time?"
Jack just looked at her, paused, then replied slowly, "Last time...I was here a grand total of three days, alright." He leaned down and lifted up an iron trap door, obviously what he had been looking for and continued, "Last time the rum runners used this island as a cache. They came by and I was able to barter passage off. By the looks of things they've been long since out of business. Probably have your bloody prince Norrington to thank for that." He thrust his arm out from the underground storage vault, a rum bottle handy. Translation: I was being pretty damn stupid, lost the Pearl, I drank rum for three days until Desi saved my drunken ass (which she was NOT happy about...), Now we're stuck here cuz Desi ain't gonna be saving ANYBODY anytime soon, so sit tight, drink some rum, and of course Norrington's a dumb ass.
"So that's it." Elizabeth said emotionally, obviously extremely disappointed. "That's the secret grand adventure of the infamous Jack Sparrow?" She was getting pissed now, "You spent three days. Lying on the beach. Drinking rum." Elizabeth seethed.
"Welcome to the Caribbean." Jack told her, already sounding drunk. No doubt getting prepared for later. He jammed a bottle of rum in Elizabeth's hand and sauntered off toward the beach. Translation: Say hello to hell. Time to get drunk.
A/N:(Let's get drunk and be somebody! Heeeeeeyyyyy! I don't remember who that song's by but it's a good one...Sorry. Couldn't resist. It's country so if you're thinking something else...uh...don't...anybody remember who it's by perchance?)
I was shaking. I was supposed to die. Great. The world really is freaking against me. Fan-freaking-tastic. Wonderful odds ain't they? Un-freaking-believable! I pushed upward slowly. Maybe if I did this in itsy bitsy little phases I could make it. Then again I could drown in the process. I could already feel my lungs craving oxygen and starting a long, unending chain of swears in my head. Ya know, the head movie reel of profanity that you play every time something screwy happens and it feels like the world's trying to screw you over but you would never show at home because, yeah, you'd never be allowed to leave your room ever again? Yeah. That one.
Well, my reel's going, I shaking something fierce, I'm starving for oxygen, stretching one painful, quaking limb up one after the other, and I still manage to have time to think: Barbosa. You. Are. Going. Down.
"Somethin'...somethin'...devil's...somethin'...matches...somethin' and really bad eggs, somethin'...somethin'... Yo ho! Yo ho a pirate's life for me!" Elizabeth and Jack sang loudly over the crashing waves and they sprinted around their fire like idiots. But when is Jack not? Translation: Damn. I'm drunk.
"I love this song!" Jack hollered as Elizabeth laughed and clung to him. "Really BAD eggs." Jack exclaimed before swaying on the spot and collapsing in the sand. Translation: Damn. I'm REALLY drunk. "When I get the Pearl back," Jack began, yanking Elizabeth down next to him, "I'm gonna teach to the whole crew and we'll sing it all the time." Translation: I'm completely and utterly lost without Desi.
"And you will positively be the most fearsome pirate in the Spanish main." Elizabeth informed him very drunkenly, draping herself across his chest.
"Not just the Spanish main, love." Jack responded dreamily, "The entire ocean. The entire world." I dunno if this says anything about his character but hey! I'll translate it anyway! Translation: I have a huge ass ego considering I don't have a ship and can't function without my Desi cuz she's the one that really makes all this stuff happen.
Funny what you find out when you realize what it REALLY means, ain't it?
Every ligament, every muscle, every atom hurt like hell. I was shaking like crazy, I needed to breath, I was feeling dizzy and disoriented, and, of course, I was in a total state of pain and agony from the bomb that blew off and left me in pieces. God, what a god-awful-freaking-day.
I could see the surface of the water. I could see it. Only a few feet away. COME ON! My arms were shaking so hard I could barely keep them moving towards oxygen. Wonderful clean, wonderful oxygen. But I was failing. And I was failing fast. In the end only three thoughts kept me going:
1. Will was going to die if I didn't get moving.
2. Who was gonna clean up after Jack and his stupidity?
And...
3. There was something I had to ask Alex.
Gotta ask him...gotta ask him...gotta ask him... Slowly I inched toward the top of the water, moving, moving, just keep moving...My fingers breached the waves and my resolve strengthened. I can make it. I can make it. I CAN! I have to ask Alex...AHHHHHHHHH. I took a deep shuddering breathe as cold air hit my face. My lungs were having a little party, screaming and shouting in happiness, while I was having my own little party. GOD I'M ALIVE! It was a god-freaking-miracle.
It took me a while to realize I had stopped shaking. I was still quaking, but now it was because of blood loss and the frigid coldness of the water. I pushed myself towards the Pearl with a string of thoughts running through my fevered mind: Get on board, wrap up wounds, sleep for three days, fix up Jack's stupidity, ask Alex what I need to ask him. Sounds good to me.
But by the time I got on board the ship I had found all the flaws in that stupid timeline. I'll leave that up to you to infer them yourself cuz they're kinda obvious but take that as an example of how loopy I was. I actually wasn't able to yank myself on board. Muscleman noticed me floating, nearly dead in the water, and (oddly enough) took pity on me and pulled me up.
"Desi. What you doing down there?" He grunted at me.
"The explosion." I coughed out, "Looking for medallion...ship blew up..." I panted pressing a hand against my side to try and stem the blood flow.
"Get Barbosa?" Muscleman growled.
"No. No." I choked out, "Just...just take me to Will."
"Why?" Muscleman snarled, taking me by my already aching throat. My lungs buckled and a gurgling noise escaped my mouth as spit filled it.
"Tend...wounds." I rasped. He let go and I continued breathily, "Who else knows how to on this ship where none of you get hurt?"
"I'm staying with you." Muscleman grunted, picking me up easily, "I want no funny stuff. No talking."
"Right." I sighed relieved as my body bounced back and forth painfully in his grasp.
"Desiree." A voice whispered quietly in my ear. "Desi?" the voice stopped for a second and cold water pressed against my face and I shot up, "NO! I shrieked. "No more water, please, no more water." I begged, pulling my legs to my chest, a stricken look crossing my face. It was then I realized I was laying on a cot and it was pitch black out.
"Calm down Desiree. It's gonna be okay." Will murmured quietly. He was sitting on a stool next to my cot and a few of Barbosa's pirates glanced over at my outburst, among them was Muscleman.
I took a deep breathe, "Sorry. Sorry. I'm-I'm fine." After the adrenaline rush is when the pain kicked in. I cringed and sunk down onto the cot on my back, but yelped as the red, open wounds scratched against the itchy fabric. But, as I shot up, I winced as a jolt of pain hummed through my stomach. I groaned in agony and Will helped to set me down on my right side, seemingly the only portion of my body not covered in cuts, bruises, and lacerations.
I wasn't wearing much, just my underclothes. I shivered and Will gently pulled the covers over me, working hard to not scratch any of the numerous open wounds, but I still flinched.
"Sorry." He apologized.
"No. No." I responded pained, "I'm just glad I'm not dead."
"You almost were." Will smiled slightly, "Your fever only broke a half an hour ago."
"Well, I've got great timing, don't I?" I joked with a strained grin as I shifted slightly and offered a pained grin. I rested my head on my pillow feeling exhausted. I don't recommend passing out as a good way to catch some z's by the way.
"Yeah." Will responded rather grimly. He leaned forward and whispered quietly, "Thank you."
"No big." I responded with a slight laugh, knowing exactly what this particular 'thank you' was for. Give ya three guesses...
"Hey! What're you talking 'bout!" Muscleman demanded, "I said no talking!"
"Right." Will and I both rolled our eyes at the same time.
"So what's wrong with me Doc?" I asked casually and audibly.
"Quite a bit." Will admitted, carefully pulling the covers off of my ravaged body. And I thought I felt badIt looked way worse than I could have imagined. His fingers gently grazed a long jagged cut across my stomach, "From the sword. When I was blown away from the explosion you must have rammed into it." He explained. He shifted lightly to my left side and stated, "Wood splinters from the hull of the ship exploding. Which I've already pulled out." He moved to my leg, then indicated my back and informed me, "Your back got the worst of the blast, ripping at the skin and ripping some of the muscles."
"And I wondered why I was in so much pain." I responded sarcastically, shifting tenderly.
"And various other nicks and bruises of course." Will finished with a small smile at my ability to joke over anything.
"Of course." I sighed smirking. Then I had a sudden realization, "Why aren't they bandaged?"
"They were. I'm just letting them breathe." Will responded, pulling some strips of fabric, tape, and gauze off of the table. He quickly and deftly cleaned my skin, his fingers leaving goose bumps across the places he touched, and bandaged the gaping cut on my across my stomach, then my side, and last of all my back. His hands roved carefully and gently along the torn skin, but they were blacksmith's hands after all. I tried not to show my agony, but it was hard. It wasn't Will's fault. Okay, yes it was, but that wasn't the point. He was helping me, and for that I thank him. Kinda.
"You'll be alright." Will told me surely, "Just nothing straining for a while and you should be fine."
"Straining? Like what?" I asked suspiciously, dreading the answer, lifting my head up to glare at him but immediately moved it back down because the moment I had moved excruciating pain sped along my neck line.
"Like...moving at all." He replied slowly, examining a long slice down my thigh.
"What!" I yelped.
Will looked at me with those piercing eyes, "You can't move at all."
"Fan-FREAKING-tastic." I growled, slamming down on my cot and groaning in pain.
It wasn't until later that we figured out that the excruciated pain across my stomach was actually around four broken ribs. Funny how long it took to figure this out, huh? Oh, yeah, and the fact that my collar bone was broken had absolutely nothing to do with the reason moving my head was like asking me to pound nails into my own foot. For the next day or so I could not move at all and grudgingly Barbosa allowed Will to tend to me. Nobody else on that bloody ship was likely to do it, nor would they know how.
"Stop fidgeting." Will scolded in an attempt to get me to stop moving my injured limbs. But by seven a.m. the next morning I was so restless that sitting still was...I'm pretty sure you're getting tired of analogies, but here's another...sitting still was as easy as telling a hyped up, sugar high'ed two year old that it was time for bed. Which was essentially what Will was trying to do, "Desiree you need to sleep a bit." I had been up all night, Will by my side on the stool placed next to my cot. The pain had been too much to deal with even trying to sleep and beyond that I knew we were getting closer and closer to Isle De Muerta which, of course, stressed me out more than ever. Will knew what he was in store for and he was acting all calm about it. I don't see how he could be so calm when I was literally freaking out. This had nothing to do with me. Right?
I shook my head in frustration and let out a cry of pain as my collar bone grinded together in the clean break which doc had wrapped up all nice and sweet like a present. Great present. It still hurt like hell though. Will gave me a would-you-just-listen-to-me-it'd-be-less-painful look. That look was really starting to piss me off. I moved and tried to get myself comfortable, maybe some rest wouldn't hurt...but my ribs were bound so tightly that getting comfortable was not easy. Not easy at all. Ow. Will looked on with a relieved sigh. I could tell he was happy his patient was finally going to call it an adventure and just sleep a bit. Even for a few minutes. I closed my eyes, clearing my mind, and focused on Alex after I had wiped everything else away. But something kept getting to me. I had to ask. My eyes popped open and I looked over at Will who immediately sighed heavily and gave me an exasperated look. I just looked back and asked, "Why aren't you scared?"
"What?" Will asked startled.
"C'mon Will." I scoffed, "You know they're going to kill you once we get to Isle De Muerta." I continued, then repeated, "Why aren't you scared?"
Will paused, thinking deeply, before responding slowly, " I know this is going to sound crazy, but I know Jack's going to save me." He paused but put a hand up when I opened my mouth, "Jack may be low, and a scalawag, and absolutely mad, but in the end Jack... Jack's got what most of us don't have: An insanity that never ends. And the insane thing to do in this situation would be to come save me. He might even just come to get the Pearl and decide to help me on the way, but as long as I know that Jack would do anything to get the Pearl I know he'll be back. And as long as he's back he'll save me, I know it."
I smirked at him. "Took the words right outta my mouth." I remarked dryly. "And I thought I was the only one who got that."
Will grinned, "Should of known. You know him better than anyone else."
"I just have this weird feeling that something very odd is going to come from this." I confessed. "Like this isn't the end."
He studied me for a moment before replying quietly, "I'd be lying if I told you I thought you were wrong. Now get some sleep, okay?"
I smirked at him before telling him seriously, "It's 'savvy' love."
A/N: (Alrighty. That's the end of this installment! I'm getting somewhere! I'm close to done! I never thought I'd see the freaking day...anyway, thanks for reading, luv ya all lotz, and Laterz! -Writing Fairy-)