AN: Hi there! I'm so sorry that I only updated now. I've been so busy with school that I couldn't find the time to write and update. I did try my best to squeeze it in and so I've finally finished the latest chapter. Siibi has been asking for a romance but unfortunately the flow of the story didn't allow me to put in a romantic moment. Maybe in the next chapter...*winks* So without further ado, here's Chapter 38! Read and Review and Enjoy XD

"You are not alone my love. You will never be alone in this world." - Clarissa Silvestre

Chapter 38 - Heavenly Intervention

"How is she doing?" Jack asked as he watched Tia Dalma and Elizabeth walk out of his cabin that night. He watched the two women's reactions, tried to see if he could find an answer through their expressions and their movements. The two behaved calmly and normally enough, though they seemed to be slightly exhausted. After all, taking care of Marine for the past week would take its toll on anyone. Elizabeth answered Jack by shaking her head slowly, with a small frown on her face.

So there were no improvements, but at the same time there weren't any bad news either. Jack didn't know whether to be glad or to be disappointed at this. Carrie's death was a harsh blow to anyone, especially to her best friend Marine. Of course he understood if Marine was feeling depressed about what had happened, but he felt that this was taking it too far. It had been a week already, and still she was isolated in Jack's cabin; refusing to eat or go out or do anything at all. Everyone had attempted to go into the cabin, one by one, to try and convince her to stop mourning. But even Jack himself couldn't bring her out of her depression.

"Jack...I'm worried. What's going to happen to her?" Elizabeth asked as she bit her lip. Jack felt himself be brought out of his thoughts and smiled at her reassuringly.

"Don't you worry love. Nothing shall befall our young damsel as long as I am here." He replied. Though deep inside he wasn't too sure himself. Was Marine going to ever be all right? Could she get out of this grief that had settled on her self? He looked back at his cabin then took a deep breath as he forced his legs to move towards it. "I'll go and keep an eye on her. You and Tia head to the galley and have yourselves something to eat." He didn't wait to hear their replies and entered the dark and gloomy cabin. It felt like walking into a sick person's room, and perhaps that was it really was. When he entered he looked around, with only the light of the candle on the table his only source of vision, and stopped when his gaze settled on the young woman sitting on his bed, with her legs folded against her chest and her arms wrapped around tightly.

He couldn't help but feel guilty at the ropes that they had tied around her hands and to the edge of the bed, as well as the rope wrapped around her waist and to the other end of the same bed. There was enough rope there to let her move her whole body freely, but the one thing Marine couldn't be able to do was to bring her hands to her neck; to where the cursed gold coin was hanging with a string. During the first few days she had repeatedly taken the coin away from her body and threw it as far away as she could. They had already lost a few to the sea, and because they couldn't afford to lose more, they decided to hold her down. She looked like a trapped child on that bed; so fragile and weak.

"Hey there love. It's me, Jack Sparrow. Remember me? The gorgeous, wonderful pirate of your dreams." He said cheerfully as he made his way across the room towards the bed. He sat on the edge and looked at Marine who seemed to be looking straight ahead of her at nothing in particular. "Tia's really helpful in our navigating, with the compass in her hand and all. Somehow it seems that we are being led to some place near Tortuga. We won't be there in another few weeks though, so all we can do now is sit here and wait." All throughout his monologue Marine didn't speak nor did she move. It was like talking to a life-sized doll. A few minutes after the heavy silence Jack sighed and opened his mouth to speak.

"Listen Marine - "

"Stop. Just stop it." The soft voice of the other woman in the room spoke up. Jack would have entirely missed it if he hadn't seen her mouth move. Her voice sounded so cold, so distant and so languid that it suddenly made Jack angry.

"What do you mean stop?! Stop trying to help you? Stop trying to get you out of this hold you've buried yourself in? Marine I've had enough! Carrie's dead! She's dead do you hear me? She's not coming back! Just like your foster parents. They'll never come back too! But if you think that you'll achieve anything by killing yourself too then you're wrong! Everyone else experienced the same thing don't you see? They all lost someone they cared. But do you see them moping around? No! They're all struggling to live. Struggling to move on even after what happened. That's what you should be doing!" He shouted at her angrily. Marine still didn't move from where she was. It irked Jack to no end.

"So you're just going to sit there and stare in front of you for the rest of your life is that it?" Jack gritted his teeth. "Say something you bloody woman! Get mad at me! Shout at me and tell me I'm wrong or that I wouldn't understand you! Cry! Laugh! Punch me! Just do something!"

"If Elizabeth died..." Marine began. Jack fell silent as he looked at Marine who slightly turned her head to gaze at the pirate. "If she died...do you think Will would be doing the things you're telling me I should do? Do you think, after someone you love and hold dear to your heart died, you would be able to stand up and move on as if nothing like that ever happened? How about you? If someone you loved died, would you have the strength to do all those things? Or would you do something entirely different?" A sudden image of Marine, cold as snow and still as a rock came flying into Jack's mind. He could feel his heart wrench at the thought of how close he had been to losing Marine then and shook his head to take away the image from his mind.

"I..." He didn't know how to answer her. Even she could see it in his expression; that if it had happened to him, he would probably be as depressed as she was. She turned back to gazing at the front; at nothing in particular, and didn't hear the sound of footsteps nor the sound of the door closing as Jack wordlessly went out of the cabin and leaned against the door. He saw Tia and Elizabeth making their way back to him, and saw worry in their expressions.

"Jack? Are you all right?" Elizabeth asked.

"I can't do it."

"Pardon?"

"I can't do it anymore."

"What on earth are you talking about?" Jack placed a hand to cover his face as he went on.

"This...this futile attempt to bring Marine back from whatever depression she's fallen into. I can't try to bring her back anymore." Tia and Elizabeth widened their eyes in surprise and disbelief, but it was the young blond haired woman who asked.

"Why? What happened back there Jack?"

"I...she...while I was there inside that cabin she asked me a question that was impossible to answer. She asked me if I would recover, should the same thing happening to her happen to me. She told me what I would do if the person I cared for and loved died. And I...I couldn't tell her the same things I was trying to tell her before. If it happened to me...if she suddenly died...I...I don't think I could recover either." The two women somehow knew who Jack was speaking of and looked at him concernedly.

"But it will happen, if this goes on, won't it Jack?" Tia asked him. "If she continued to fall deeper into this depression, she would surely die. Can you live with yourself knowing that you had failed to keep her alive?"

"Then what am I supposed to do?" Jack snapped at her as he looked up at the two women. "Tell me what I should do to bring her back!" Elizabeth also glanced at Tia helplessly. Everyone knew that no matter how hard they tried, they just couldn't help Marine then. At first, the dark skinned woman said nothing to either of them. Then after a few minutes had passed she took a deep sigh and looked up at them.

"There is a way to help her, though I don't know if it will do any good or if it will only make her worse. But I am willing to do this, because you are a good friend to me Jack Sparrow, and I have found young Marine to be a very charming and interesting woman. I do not wish to see her demise be something as disappointing as this. She deserves to die happy and content." The two looked at Tia in surprise.

"What? What is it?" Elizabeth asked.

Marine had no sense of time in that tiny cabin she was in. Everything was dark inside; the doors and windows were shut tight and the curtains were drawn. She didn't feel like looking at the sunlight and didn't want to. The darkness suited her perfectly, together with the mood she was in. She didn't know whether it was day or night, and how long it has been since she was brought into the cabin. She didn't know, and could care less. Nothing mattered anymore. The image of Carrie as she fell back into the portal, with a hole through her chest and blood all over her shirt, ran through her mind repeatedly like a broken record. It was torture, and at the same time, she didn't want to forget it. Every single detail that was Carrie was etched into her mind, as long as she could remember that event. She feared that if she pushed away what had happened, then she would forget how Carrie looked like as well.

Everything about that day was fresh in her mind, as if it had only happened yesterday. The colors of the ship and the sky, the faces of the people aboard the ship, the sounds of the birds and the grunts of the crew as they worked to set up the sails, the feel of the gentle sway of the ship as it floated on the surface of the water, the smell of the ocean mixed with the smell of sweat and perfume. She closed her eyes, took in a deep breath, and immersed herself into the same scene she fell into every single minute of every single day.

There she was, standing in front of Carrie who held the gold coin in her hands. For some strange reason she was aware of everyone else who was there. Will and Elizabeth were standing side by side. Teague and Cornelius were by the railings, probably having their own private conversations now that they knew there was no immediate danger to anyone on the ship. Tia and Norrington were there as well of course, and who could forget Jack? Dear Jack Sparrow was standing right by her side, hovering beside her protectively like some sort of bodyguard. Before she would have probably warmed at the thought that Jack was that worried about her. But now all she could feel was an emptiness inside of her.

She remembered everything that happened; every word that was uttered and every movement that was made. Therefore she was taken aback, the first emotion she had ever felt after what happened, when she saw that not everything was happening as she expected them, remembered them to be. Instead of simply Carrie who was shot, everyone else was shot in that one single "bang" that echoed around the ship. She widened her eyes as everyone fell to the ground of puddles of blood forming below them. She could see all of their faces in different forms of agony. Some were reaching out their arms to her with a cry of help. Shaking her head and taking a step back, Marine tried to run away from it all, but found that she couldn't.

An invisible wire tripped her, making her fall to the ground with a loud thud. She landed on the deck but made no move to stand back up as she pressed her hands to her ears and shut her eyes tight. She prayed that everything would disappear. She wished that no one had ever died. At the same time, she wished that she herself were dead, so that nothing would bring her pain or suffering anymore.

"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. You have such a little, overactive imagination."

A voice, sounding like an angel who was singing a melodious song, reached her ears. Curious, Marine opened her eyes and removed her hands from her ears. She looked around her and saw that she wasn't on the ship anymore. Everything around her was white; there was nothing she could see that signified a boundary to her vision. It just went on and on like an infinite loop.

"What are you doing, trying to punish yourself further by repeating the same event over and over again?"

"Thomas, calm down. I'm sure she is just very sad to see her friend go like that." Marine swiveled her head around to the two voices and could hardly believe her eyes. There standing not far from where she was, were her mother and father. Thomas smiled at her as he gave a slight wave.

"Hey there my little Marine. How are you doing?" Marine found herself at a loss for words. She felt her throat suddenly go dry and her brain suddenly ceace to function. Without thinking she stood up and ran towards them, wrapping her arms around the couple before giving a loud wail. She couldn't believe that they were standing before her like this but they felt so solid and so warm that there was no denying the fact that they were there. She didn't bother asking how this happened or tried to figure out the logic in this phenomenon. All she wanted right then was to be enveloped in the arms of her parents and stay that way forever. But after a few minutes passed the couple pulled away from Marine, who frowned at the two.

"What? Why...no. Don't stop." She told them as she clutched at their hands tightly. "Don't leave me here alone."

"Marine...you have to understand that we have to leave sooner or later." She growled at them as she narrowed her eyes angrily.

"Then why bother coming here?! What do you want to accomplish by reminding me that you two are gone in my life? Are you two here to remind me that everyone I ever cared for would die because of me?"

"Marine...."

"Why did the two of you have to go? Why did you two leave me here alone to fend for myself? Why did you have to take away my foster parents and my best friend from me? WHY?" She screamed at them as tears fell down her eyes down to her chin.

"We're here to remind you that not everything is permanent." Thomas told her with a firm, unwavering voice. "Everything on this world, and everyone living here must one day return to where they came from, do you understand?" Marine said nothing as she turned her gaze away from the couple. The man took a deep breath and closed his eyes before he began once more. "My daughter, I know that things have been very tough on you for the past few months. I can't even imagine how much. But you are strong Marine, and I know that you will have enough strength and will in you to move on."

"What if I don't want to? What if I've had it with all this suffering and pain? Didn't you ever think that maybe I'm not as strong as you make me out to be and that I want to end everything so that I wouldn't have to deal with it any longer?"

"There is something that you must know Marine. Do you remember Cornelius' story? About how Clarissa had been taken away by her clone? I wanted to kill her. I wanted to make her suffer for taking away the love of my life then I wanted to take away my own life, so that I could be with her once more. It was very tempting, and I wanted to do it as soon as possible so that all the pain and suffering that was going on in my heart would go away. But I didn't."

"And why didn't you?" Marine asked.

"Because I still had something living in the world that I had to protect and take care of." The other man replied with a smile. "And that was you Rianna. You're the one that gave me reason to continue living when everything else had been taken away from me. Then I realized that it was wrong of me to think of dying, because I still had purpose in my life. So the same goes to you. There is a reason that your best friend is gone and yet you aren't. You still have something left to do in the living world. So you must do it and make the most of what has been provided to you; live each day like it would be your last." At first Marine looked down on the ground and said nothing. Then after a few minutes she looked up once more.

"What if I can't do it? What if I'm not strong enough?"

"Don't worry Marine. You're my daughter! The stubborness in us is strong enough to make us keep standing even when we are in the depths of hell. I believe that you will make it no matter what happens." Clarissa stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Marine.

"You are not alone my love. You will never be alone in this world. Your father and I, your foster parents and your best friend as well, will always be there in your heart, supporting you and guiding you in whatever path you decide to walk through. And you will have your friends who right now are very worried about you. Can't you see? They want you to recover from this ordeal and they will do anything to help you in your trials. And need I remind you of the man who has captured your heart, and you, his? He is as worried about you as everyone else, maybe even more." Her parents didn't need to tell her who they were speaking of but she didn't say it as she looked away in embarrassment. Clarissa stepped back then clasped Thomas' hand as the two looked back at her.

"Marine, we want you to know that we love you with all of our hearts, and we are very proud of what you have become." Thomas said.

"Take care Marine. And always remember that we will always be there with you no matter where you are." Clarissa said. Marine felt tears fall down her face as she was engulfed in a bright white light and fell back asleep.

What had once been a satisfying darkness that shielded her from the waking, living world was now a hindrance to Marine's sight as she tried to look around the cabin. She woke up on Jack's bed with tears in her eyes and a lightness in feeling like a heavy burden had been lifted from her shoulders. She could still feel the gloom and the depression that hovered inside the room and couldn't help but shiver slightly. She didn't think that she had been that bad, but she could see that it was even worse than she first thought.

Wanting to know if she had indeed gotten rid of most of the grief that was keeping her all depressed and sickly, she closed her eyes and remembered Carrie. There was a pang in her heart along with the urge to cry, but it wasn't as bad as the previous times. This time she felt that her head was clear enough for her to think of something aside from the death. The sudden rumbling in her stomach told her the same as well. She tried to get out of the bed but forgot that there were ropes tied to her and found herself being pulled back onto the mattress.

"Ack!"

The sound she was making woke up whoever was in the room with her, and when she glanced at the edge of the bed she saw that it was Will. The young blacksmith's head shot up at the sound and the movement and swiveled left to right frantically to try and figure out what had caused the commotion. When he saw Marine lying sprawled on the bed he stood up and stared at her warily, prepared to fight her if she was going to try to escape him. Marine blinked at him then raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"You actually think that you stand a chance against me blacksmith?" She said in a teasing tone. Will was taken aback and let his hands fall down to his sides in his shock.

"M-Marine?"

"That's my name." She replied as she righted herself and sat cross legged while she looked at him. "Now if you don't mind, could you take these things off me so I can go and get something to eat? I'm starving." Will still couldn't believe what he was seeing as he continued to stare at her. Marine sighed and rolled her eyes at him. "Aww come on. It's not like I'm going to kill you, or anyone else for that matter, if you release me. All I want is something to eat."

"I...you...you're speaking again."

"It's not like I couldn't speak before." She replied with a pout. "It's just that I chose not to."

"I...I don't understand..."

"You don't have to. Oh fine! If you don't want me to get out of this bed for now, why don't you go out and get me something to eat? Plus a bottle of rum would do nicely. What are you waiting for? Hurry up!" Will blinked before nodding dumbly and walking out of the cabin as if in a daze. Marine wondered if Will really was in the right mind to do as she asked and feared that he was still in shock and too out of it to get her something to eat. She attempted to cross her arms and felt a sharp pain on her wrist when they pulled back. Looking down, she observed the ropes that were tied around her wrist and frowned. They were red and bruised from all the pulling and tugging she tried. Most of what had happened during the time she was depressed were blurry in her mind; all she could remember were the feelings and the pain she felt. She didn't want to remember them either way, so she just let it go like that.

Minutes after Will had gone out, Tia and Elizabeth came in bearing a tray of what she thought was the most delicious meal she has ever smelled. Then again anything edible would have smelled good to her at that time. The two women walked further into the room and looked at Marine with worry and hope. Marine looked back at them and gave a small embarrassed smile.

"Uh...thanks." She muttered.

"Marine...are you..."

"I'm fine. I'm all right now, thanks for asking." Marine replied, interrupting Elizabeth as she gave a deep sigh. "It still hurts of course, but I guess you could say I've gotten over most of the grief. Can you remove these things?" She asked as she gave a slight tug at the ropes on her hands. "They're starting to be a pain." Tia nodded as she did as Marine asked while Elizabeth moved to get some medicinal supplies to treat the wounds on her wrists. Then once Marine was free, she greedily grabbed the tray they brought and began to bite at the chicken and vegetables they prepared. To her delight they also brought a bottle of rum which she half-finished with just one go. While she ate, Elizabeth and Tia sat down with her.

"What made you suddenly decide to...you know, stop?" The young blond haired woman asked. Marine chewed on a piece of meat as she pondered on Elizabeth's question.

"Well you wouldn't believe it...but I met my mother and father in my dreams. They slapped some sense into me - not literally Liz, geez - so as I was saying, they talked and convinced me to stop moping about and get back to living like a normal person...or as normal as I could be." She explained to them. Elizabeth smiled as she glanced at Tia Dalma who had a knowing smile on her face.

"Then it worked Tia!"

"I believe it has." Marine looked from one woman to the other and tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"What are you two talking about? What worked?"

"Yesterday we were so worried about you and how you might never come out of this grief and sadness, that we decided to take drastic measures." Elizabeth explained. "It had become really bad, to the point that Jack himself had given up on trying to bring you out of your grief. You shoud have seen him Marine. He was so upset with himself." Marine glanced away at the mention of Jack. That was still a pretty touchy and awkward subject that Marine didn't feel like delving into at the moment.

"Uhh...yeah. Okay. So back to what we were discussing..." The young blond haired woman smiled even wider when she saw Marine's reaction. But she said nothing about it and went on with her explanation.

"Oh right. So when it looked like there was no hope, Tia decided that she had to do something to bring you out of your grief. So she made this potion and said that its smell would help you." Marine blinked then looked at Tia in confusion.

"Smell?"

"It was to bring you in a death like state. I had your body push you out temporarily so that you may make your way to the world after life, where you met your parents. I surmised that something like that may be of help to you." Tia explained. When Marine finally understood, she smiled at the dark skinned witch doctor.

"Thank you Tia. For everything."

"It is a pleasure to help you my dear." Tia replied. "And I'm glad to find that my efforts were not in vain." Marine smiled at her then look down at the tray on her lap. She had finished eating and was emptying the bottle.

"I'm really sorry...for bringing this all on you guys. I didn't know what I did before, but I had a vague idea that you guys had a pretty hectic time trying to take care of me. I'm grateful to you all, for putting up with me."

"You don't have to thank us for that Marine! We were very worried about you so we did what we thought would help you." Elizabeth said.

"Thank you, either way." Marine finished off the remains of the bottle then yawned loudly as she stretched her limbs. "Well now that that's over and done with, I guess it's time for me to get out and face everyone on board. I'm sure everyone's tired of all my dramatics and special treatment aboard this ship." Elizabeth gave her a small smile as she nodded slightly.

"I suppose what you say has some truth in it." Marine chuckled at the blond haired woman then stood up from the bed. Elizabeth and Tia followed after the female pirate as they went out of Jack's cabin into the main deck of the Black Pearl. The sunlight streaming down on Marine's face made her give a loud sigh and stare up at the sky with a smile.

"Ahh...it's been a while since I've felt the sun's rays." She said to herself. "It feels good." When she looked back on the ground she saw Will making his way towards the group. For a few minutes the young blacksmith said nothing and simply stared at her. Then with an embarrassed smile he scratched the back of his head and nodded to Marine in acknowledgement.

"Um...it's good to see you in better and brighter spirits Marine." He said. Marine smiled back at him as she stepped forward to give him a hug.

"Thanks Will. And I'm sorry for making you feel embarrassed or awkward around me earlier. It wasn't fair to you since you didn't expect me to recover that suddenly." Will chuckled as he stepped back from Marine and shook his head. The awkwardness between them vanished the moment Marine had smiled at him. "And thanks for everything you've done for me. I promise to pay you back somehow." She added.

"Hey!! Since you're mentioning paying back people for all their hard work, you might as well start off with me!" A voice cried. They all turned their gazes at Jones who was making his way towards the group with a grin on his face. Marine smiled at him as he held out his arms towards her. "Well how about that? I haven't seen you smile for a week. I guess I can count that as a part of your payment to me." He added in a teasing manner. She smiled even wider and went up to him to give him a hug.

"We'll take the rest of my payment to you out from your debt to me. How's that?" Jones laughed and after hugging her, slapped her back playfully.

"Now that's definitely my Marine!" The female pirate narrowed her eyes at the thief then smirked as she punched his arm with equal force. In the midst of their teasing, Elizabeth was looking around the main deck of the Black Pearl in search of someone. When she couldn't find him anywhere outside, she figured that he was somewhere below the deck and began to pull Will along with her.

"Come on Will. I would like to have something to eat at the galley." The young blacksmith had no choice but to follow his wife as they made their way below deck. Marine and Jones stared at the two and tilted their heads to the side in confusion. Jones thought it strange that Elizabeth would want to eat when as a matter of fact she had already eaten lunch together with him and the rest of the crew. But he cast aside the thought when he caught sight of Teague who was inspecting the ropes out of boredom. Without warning he grabbed Marine's arm and began dragging her towards him. The female pirate widened her eyes and stumbled as she tried to follow after the thief. Tia couldn't do anything else but watch and chuckle softly as the thief lead Marine away.

"Jones!! What the hell are you doing? Where are you taking me?" She cried.

"You've been cooped up in that cabin for weeks, you had fallen into a coma and you had been acting like some brainless child throughout this time that I'm sure you've never heard of Teague's delicious, wonderful stories about Jack Sparrow in his youth!" Jones explained excitedly. "That's about to change though. Teague! Teague!" A smirk appeared on Marine's face as she watched the older man turn his gaze to them with a smile.

"And to what do I owe this pleasure of your presence?" He asked them. He gazed at Marine specifically and was glad that she looked a lot better. She was still slightly pale, but there was more color in her cheeks compared to the previous weeks he had seen her in Jack's cabin.

"Jones here told me that you have some interesting stories about a certain pirate captain of the Black Pearl. And I do remember you mentioning them when we first met." Marine said. "Care to divulge your interesting stories and entertain me for a few minutes at least?" Teague chuckled as he looked at the two.

"What about your promise to Jackie boy about not being near me?" He asked her. Marine rolled her eyes.

"If this is his reason for making me stay away from you then it's all the more reason for me not to follow him! I'll never pass this chance to hear his childhood days." She told him. "Though I think we should do this somewhere hidden, where he won't find us." She added with a thoughtful gaze. Jones grinned as he began to suggest places where they could talk without being seen too quickly. Teague just spent this time looking at the other two as they talked, teased and laughed. It was indeed difficult not to warm up to such a free-spirited woman such as Marine. Especially if she was just as bold and witty as the men were. His thoughts were cut short when a question was addressed to him. He had an apologetic smile on his face as he focused his attention to the two.

"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention. What was it you were asking me?"

"Well Jones and I thought of going up the crow's nest to have our little entertainment. Is that all right with you? If you want we can find an easier spot on the Pearl." Marine told him. Teague frowned and pretended to be very offended.

"I'll have you know that despite my age, I am just as fit and healthy as any other pirate on this ship. I'm probably stronger than some of them even!" He scoffed. "Who do you think taught Jack all of those skills and tricks that he uses in his fights? Why if he and I were locked in a battle I would no doubt win it within minutes!" Marine laughed at Teague who gave a cheeky grin in return.

"But there will come a time when the student would surpass the master isn't there?" She asked him with a teasing grin. Teague made a loud noise in his throat which resembled a snort and a grunt, causing Marine to laugh all over again.