Chapter 35:

Chapter 35: There is a God

A/N: This might be a little bit more graphic than most of my other chapters. Enjoy!

As the victory celebrations continued on aboard The Black Pearl, Flying Dutchman, and other pirate vessels, Captains Jack and Will hurried below to be with an injured Guinevere. Before they could proceed to the hold, Elizabeth, Lucia, and Rose followed.

"Not joining the fun, Captains?" Rose asked.

"As much as I regret it, yes, love," Jack replied with a smile.

"Where's Guin?" Elizabeth asked.

"She's the reason we're not celebrating yet," Will explained.

"What happened?" Elizabeth asked.

"Is she all right?" Rose added anxiously.

"Rupert shot her before he died," Will explained, "but yes, she'll be all right."

Elizabeth, Lucia, and Rose breathed sighs of relief, while Jack remained stoic.

"Well, she's not doing any good with a bullet stuck in her, all alone down there," Rose said.

"Right," Will agreed, "Rose, you'll come with me and help Guin."

"Aye, Captain Turner," Rose agreed as she dashed off down below.

"Well-spoke!" Jack said brightly.

After a long, hard-earned victory against Rupert, no one was more anxious to see Guinevere than Jack. To the shock and amusement of everyone, Jack was fully concerned with the welfare of Guinevere. For the first time, Jack was thinking of someone else's needs other than his own.

"How is she? Did she ask for me?" he asked.

"She hasn't woken up yet," Will told him, "but I knew when she did you'd be the first person she'd want to see."

"Very thoughtful of you, but you're evading one question: will she be all right?" Jack asked.

"I already answered that, Jack," Will replied, "She'll be fine, Jack."

Jack looked down in disbelief.

"Have I ever lied to you, Jack?" Will asked.

"No," Jack replied.

"And have I ever given you reason not to trust me?" Will added.

"Besides going behind my back and trying to steal my ship?" Jack asked.

"Jack!" Will groaned, "You know why I did that and it did no harm to you."

"But I have to take those things into account when you're operating on my wife, mate," Jack said.

"Guin is my best friend. You can trust that I'll take care of her," Will reassured him.

"You're not her husband," Jack said stubbornly.

Will sighed. "There's nothing I can do to convince you, is there?"

"Not really," Jack admitted.

"Well, there's no sense of just arguing about it then," Will said sensibly, "I promise Guin will be fine in my care. Rose will help me, too. Now I need you to just stay calm and don't do anything stupid."

"I was about to advise you to do the same thing," Jack told him.

Will smiled and made to head down below. Jack followed, but Will stopped him.

"Can I at least see her for a moment?" Jack asked anxiously.

"Sorry, Jack," Will said remorsefully, "but if you are present, Guin might wake and I want to spare her as much pain as possible."

"But at least I'll know she'll be all right," Jack countered.

"Jack, use your brain! She'll be in pain if she wakes up. Do you really want to put her through that?" Will asked.

"No," Jack replied.

"Then you'll stay here and wait," Will declared.

Jack turned crimson. "You once said, "think like Jack". This is nothing like me! You don't know me at all, mate!"

Will took Jack's shoulders. "I know you well enough to know that you'll wait for your wife to get better and not do anything stupid. You can see Guin soon. I promise. Meanwhile, I need you to wait on deck and relax. That's an order."

"Don't promise it. Swear it," Jack said.

Will rolled his eyes. "I swear that you'll see her soon."

Jack sighed. "Aye, Captain. Take the best care of her as best a care can be given to her."

"I will. You have my word," Will said solemnly.

With a nod, Will hurried away below deck to tend to Guinevere.

"Come on, Jack," Elizabeth beckoned, "We'll wait together."

"Yeah, we're here for you," Lucia added.

Jack held up his hands. "I'd rather not. Not with you, anyway."

"We're not going to kill you, Jack," Elizabeth told him.

"We have no devious thoughts whatsoever," Lucia said.

"Doesn't give me reason to trust you," Jack argued.

Elizabeth sighed. "All right, I know you don't trust me, but will you accept an act of friendship?"

"You can trust us this time. Trust me," Lucia said earnestly.

Jack hesitated a moment. "We have an accord."

Elizabeth and Lucia sat on the steps to the quarterdeck, but Jack refused to sit. He constantly walked back and forth, to and fro. He was biting his greasy nails and his stomach was full of butterflies.

"Sit down before you fall down, Jack!" Elizabeth groaned.

"You're making me dizzy!" Lucia told him.

"And that was without a single drop of rum!" Jack told her.

Reluctantly, Jack sat down on the stairs. Elizabeth presented him with a bottle of rum.

"For once in my good life, and you won't believe this is coming out of me mouth, but rum just won't do," Jack said glumly.

"Jack doesn't want rum?" Lucia gasped.

"Yes, Captain Jack doesn't want rum," Jack replied stiffly.

"Is that so?" Elizabeth asked, "Well, I suppose this is all ours to enjoy. Lucia, would you care for some rum?"

"Oh, would I ever! Perfect for a victory such as this!" Lucia laughed.

Unable to contain himself, Jack snatched the bottle of rum from Elizabeth and guzzled it down.

"My ship, my rum," Jack declared.

Elizabeth held up another bottle and Lucia held up hers.

"To freedom!" Elizabeth declared.

"To piracy!" Lucia said.

"To Guin," Jack whispered.

Raising their bottles, Jack, Elizabeth and Lucia drank.

"Not so bad, is it?" Elizabeth asked with a laugh.

"Rum's always good," Jack declared.

Below deck, Will and Rose prepared to operate on Guinevere.

"First thing is first," Rose said, "Wash our hands so that Guin is not infected."

Quickly, Will fetched a basin and filled it with water. Then he and Rose expertly and carefully scrubbed their hands. The two friends prepared the tools needed and ensured that they were clean.

"Give me that knife," Rose told Will.

Will placed a blunt knife in Rose's hand. Rose eased the knife into Guinevere's mouth. Will nodded grimly.

Carefully, he kissed Guinevere's head. "Everything's going to be all right, Guin. My life is in your hands. Jack will kill me if you don't make it. You'll be as right as rain. I promise."

With a nod to Rose, their work on Guinevere began.

"Where do we start?" Will asked.

"Is she breathing?" Rose wanted to know.

Will held his ear by his friend's mouth. "Yes."

"And her heart?" Rose added.

Will lowered his head onto Guinevere's chest. "Steady."

"All right, we begin. I need to open her shirt," Rose instructed.

Carefully, Rose unbuttoned Guinevere's blood-stained shirt and examined the wound on Guinevere's belly.

Will grimaced and turned white. "It's deep."

"But not life-threatening," Rose countered, "Will, I'm going to pull out the bullet. I need you to keep as much pressure on the wound as possible."

Will nodded. Rose carefully and quickly plunged a set of tongs into Guinevere's belly. Will wanted to cover his ears at the sound of Guinevere's muffled, pain-infused screams. As Rose twisted the tongs in pursuit of the bullet, Guinevere began to writhe, tears falling from her closed eyes.

"Hold her down! I have to find the bullet!" Rose commanded urgently.

Will pinned Guinevere down with one arm and applied pressure to her wound with the other.

"Shhh. It'll be over soon, Guin. I promise," Will whispered.

Comforted by Will's voice, Guinevere stopped writhing.

"Good, Will!" Rose praised, "I've almost got it!"

After a few more tries, Rose retrieved the bullet. "Got the nasty, little bugger!"

Will breathed a sigh of relief.

"I need you to apply the bandages, Will," Rose told him.

"Aye, Rose," Will said instantly.

Rose fetched some bandages and Will gingerly bound them around Guinevere's belly.

"What now?" Will asked.

"We wait," Rose said simply.

Meanwhile, back on deck, Jack was a ball of nerves. He heard Guinevere's screams and turned white.

"What is that yeasty, whelp, cow hearted codpiece doing to my wife?!" Jack demanded anxiously.

"Ah, his name is Will, and he's taking care of her," Elizabeth countered.

"Really? Doesn't sound like it," Jack replied.

"Jack, calm down! It's all right," Lucia reassured him.

"Easy for you to say! You're the one that tried to kill her!" Jack groaned.

"Will you never forgive me for that?" Lucia asked.

"Will I ever stop being Captain Jack Sparrow? No!" Jack said stubbornly.

"Jack, as much as this isn't good for you it's not going to help Guin," Elizabeth said gently, "Will and Rose are doing everything for Guin. She'll be all right. You'll see."

Just then, Will and Rose emerged from below.

Jack strutted up to Will. "What did you do to her?"

"Saved her life," Will replied.

"What?" Jack asked, dumbfounded.

"I removed the bullet and Will wrapped her belly in bandages," Rose explained.

"How is she?" Jack wanted to know.

"She's sleeping and we must wait for her to wake," Will replied.

"Oh," Jack said.

"Allow me this moment to say "I told you so!"" Will bragged.

"Rub it in, mate. Rub it in," Jack groaned, "Thank you. Both of you. When can I see her?"

"You may see her now, if you like," Rose told him.

"I'd love to! Thank you, Rose, darling!" Jack said happily.

In a flash, Jack hurried down to the hold to find Guinevere laying on a hammock.

Jack knelt by her bed and kissed her hand. "Hello, my love! You gave me a fright as I've never been frightened before. I'm here now. I'll be waiting for you to wake up."

And Jack did keep to his word. He never left Guinevere's side once. Everyone was stunned and amazed by Jack's loyalty.

"I've never seen Jack so dedicated to any cause but his own," Lucia commented.

"I heard that!" Jack said resentfully.

Lucia hurried away and left Jack with Guinevere. For a week, the sun and moon rose and fell and from sunrise to sunset each day, Jack stayed with Guinevere. Finally, on a Sunday morning, Jack fell asleep and awoke to find Guinevere stirring.

"Guin? Guin, my love?" Jack asked.

With a moan, Guinevere opened her eyes. "Jack?"

"Shhh," Jack whispered, "You don't have to talk, my love. It's wonderful to see your eyes again."

"Likewise," Guinevere laughed, "Where's Will? Is he safe?"

"Alive and well, as you can imagine," Jack replied, "And Rupert is dead and we're safe again."

Guinevere smiled and leaned up to Jack for a kiss. "AHHH! D--! What was in me, a bomb?"

"Close enough," Jack laughed as he settled his wife on her pillow, "Just rest now, my love."

"I'm getting better by the second," Guinevere said.

Jack leaned down and kissed Guinevere.

Just then, Will crept down the stairs carrying his chest. "Oh, am I interrupting?"

"To be honest, yes," Jack replied.

"Ah, he's a whelp, Jack. What did you expect?" Guinevere laughed.

"See you didn't lose your wits," Will commented.

"And I'm glad you're still here, but how?" Guinevere asked.

"Oh, Rupert shot the chest all right," Will told her, "but he didn't shoot me."

"How did that shot not kill you?" Guinevere asked.

"Do you really want to know?" Will asked.

"No, I just want to torture myself with the mystery! Of course I do!" Guinevere replied.

"Here it is," Will said.

He unlocked the chest, and there lay his beating heart. On top of the heart was a cross and a Holy Bible. Both had holes through them from a gunshot!

"You were thinking like me," Jack said proudly.

"I suppose there's a reason to keep a Bible close to your heart," Will said.

"See? There is a God after all," Guinevere gloated.

Will laughed. "I believe there is!"

He leaned in close to embrace his friend, but before he could do so, Guinevere slapped him.

"OW! Hey, what was that for?" Will wanted to know.

"That was for scaring me half to death!" Guinevere told him, "And this..."

Guinevere embraced her friend tightly and gave him one quick kiss on the lips. "That's for staying with me."

"You're welcome," Will said graciously, "I'll leave you two alone."

"Go on, whelp," Guinevere laughed.

Will laughed and headed to the main deck.

Jack turned his interests back to Guinevere. "Does it hurt terribly, my love?"

"Not terribly, but it hurts all the same," Guinevere replied.

Jack carefully hopped onto the hammock and held Guinevere in his arms. "Is this better?"

"It would be better if you kissed me," Guinevere said.

Jack smiled and kissed Guinevere on the head.

"Jack, I didn't mean there!" Guinevere gasped.

"Just kidding, my love," Jack chortled.

"Shut up and kiss me! That's an order!" Guinevere giggled.

"Aye, Mrs. Sparrow," Jack laughed.

Cradling Guinevere in his arms, Jack's lips met with Guinevere's. Over and over, Jack's lips collided with his wife's. Guinevere's lips trailed up to Jack's head and down to his hands.

"I need a little help getting out of this shirt," Jack told Guinevere.

"Why didn't you say so?" Guinevere asked.

Giggling, Guinevere nimbly unbuttoned Jack's shirt and lifted it over Jack's head.

"That's better," Jack said with satisfaction.

"Where were we?" Guinevere asked slyly.

Jack's lips met hers again and the pain Guinevere felt earlier vanished in her husband's arms.

Elsewhere, on the Flying Dutchman, Will and Elizabeth were having a moment of their own.

"Calypso will be expecting me back now that the battle's over," Will said earnestly.

"How will she know where you are?" Elizabeth wanted to know.

"She's a goddess, my love," Will told her, "She knows all and she'll curse me forever if I don't go back."

Elizabeth glumly bowed her head. "I selfishly want you to stay."

Will raised her chin. "I selfishly want to be with you, too. I love you."

"I love you, too," Elizabeth told him.

A tear was shining in her eye.

"Don't worry, Elizabeth. I'll come back to see you and our baby," Will reassured her.

"It won't be the same because you won't be home with us for ten years," Elizabeth said sadly.

"But I'll be with you nonetheless," Will countered, "It doesn't matter whether I'm in this world or the next."

Elizabeth broke into a smile. "All we can do is make the best of this time."

"Indeed, we can and shall," Will agreed.

"As Pirate King, I command that you kiss me, Captain Turner," Elizabeth said.

"Aye, Your Majesty, Mrs. Turner," Will said with a grin.

Savoring one of the few moments they would have together in ten years, Will and Elizabeth's lips met and the two were joined for the rest of the night.