A/N: Takes place during the "wet powder" scene of AWE. The powder of one pistol is dry enough to put a bullet in one captain's head. He's lucky that he has a guilt ridden murderess there to tend to the wound and explain her actions to him. Sparrabeth. One-shot.

Dry Powder

"An' ye'll be fightin' Jones alone." One Hector Barbossa pointed out, one pistol aimed at the person his words were directed at, another at a man behind him. "How does that figure into your plan?"

"I'm still workin' on that." Captain Jack Sparrow admitted, smirking nonetheless. His own pistols were pointed towards two people, one on each side of him. Those two people were Elizabeth Swann, the murderess who sent him to Davy Jones's Locker, and Will Turner, her fiance. Each of them had their own guns trained on him. "But I will not be goin' back to the Locker, mate. Count on that."

He pulled the trigger of his pistol. Barbossa flinched in surprise as droplets of water were thrown into his face. The pistol's wielder frowned in dismay. Several other pistols went off, water being the only discharge. Or so they thought…

A crack of thunder rang out and one man stumbled to his right with a yelp. The deck went silent, all eyes trained on the man. It was Sparrow himself. His eyes screwed to slits for a moment and he tentatively brought a hand to the side of his head. It came away covered in a fast traveling red liquid. His eyes widened as realization hit him. He turned his gaze to the person who'd been on that side of him- Elizabeth. She'd paled significantly and was trembling ever so slightly.

A million witty quips came to his head but only two made their way out.

"So ye do know how to use that thing." Jack managed to say, spitting out a mouthful of the blood that'd welled up in his mouth and throat. "Though I 'ave to ask, love, what did I do to deserve gettin' killed by ye twice?"

He wasn't angry- at least not yet. He couldn't really feel anything, other than what felt like a hammer slamming repeatedly into his skull and the warm, salty tang in his mouth. If what he had said came out with a twinge of distaste, he hadn't meant it.

However, it must have come out that way, as the young woman struggled to reply.

"I didn't mean- You don't deserve…" She stammered in confusion and regret. When she did form a sentence, a few moments later, it was a remorseful whisper that he could barely hear. "I thought the powder was wet…"

"So did I." A wheezy breath that was meant to be a laugh escaped him. He was beginning to feel quite breathless and dizzy. "Couldn't ye 'ave at least had it pointed at good ol' Hector?"

The deck of the ship swayed beneath Jack, his vision failing to fight off the darkness. He staggered to regain his balance, tripping over himself in the process. He grunted as his head slammed into the wooden planks, his body giving in to the darkness.

*X*

When he opened his eyes, it was still dark, though not pitch black. It was damp too. There was a dull, constant throb in his head, though he couldn't quite remember what had happened. He sat up, puzzling over it, when a voice spoke up, saying his name. He looked over in the direction of the voice, finding Elizabeth sitting on the other side of iron bars. It only served to further confuse him.

"Why am I in the brig?" Jack asked, unable to hide his perplexed state of mind.

"I shot you, remember?" He could hear the guilt in her voice.

"Ye shot me?" He paused to ponder it. He vaguely remembered arguing with Barbossa, Will, and Elizabeth back up on the Pearl's deck. He'd tried to shoot his former first mate, only to discover the powder was wet from their transition between worlds. The others had tried to fire their pistols as well. He remembered a blinding pain in his skull and then darkness. He blinked, raising a hand up to where the worst of his pain was. He could barely feel stitches in the skin of his head. He gave a light chuckle, shaking his head. "Aye, I remember. Nice aim, love."

"Jack. That's hardly funny." Elizabeth reminded him grimly. "Besides, I haven't yet answered your question." At his questioning glance, she added,"As to why you're in the brig."

"Why am I in the brig?"

"After you passed out, Barbossa took full command of the ship. I just barely convinced him to let me tend to, well, the wound from where I shot you. He said he was only allowing me to because you're needed in Shipwreck Cove."

"Damn Barbossa." Jack scowled, heaving himself to his feet. "Find a way to get me out o' 'ere, will ye?"

The young woman held up a hand, revealing heys dangling from a ring in her grasp. A grin crossed the pirate captain's face at the sight.

"Before I let you out, I want you to hear something." Elizabeth warned.

"Oh? An' what would that be?" He asked, an eyebrow raised.

*X*

"I know I shot you. And that I didn't mean to do, Jack." She admitted.

"I know." He told her, remembering how pale she'd been upon realization of what she'd done.

"Quiet." She hissed. Her voice softened. "Let me finish, Jack."

Jack gave her a respectful nod, a silent "go ahead" filling the silence in that moment.

"I asked Barbossa if I could tend to your wound myself." The stubborn woman continued. "I couldn't bear the thought of you dying because of me again- or dying at all again, really. And I figured that I owed you. You saved me from drowning, you saved me from Barbossa and his crew, and you came back for us when the Kraken attacked. And I repaid you by leaving you to die, chained up to the mast of your ship. I thought that this was the least I could do to start making it up to you."

The pirate's lips had curved into a soft, genuine smile. He offered her a half shrug, dropping his arms to his sides. "Ye don't owe me a thing, savvy? When a man helps someone, especially if he's a pirate, he never expects to get anythin' good out o' it. An' don't forget, ye did rescue me from the Locker too."

Elizabeth opened her mouth to protest, but he cut her off with a shake of his head.

"It's my turn to talk now, Lizzie." Jack told her, though he hesitated before continuing. "It's not that I don't appreciate the effort of ye savin' me life- I really do…" He paused nervously. "'S jus', not many people who've saved me life had actually done it from their heart. Jus' William an' yourself. 'S a new feelin'."

Not for the first time, it occurred to her that she didn't really know Jack Sparrow. She knew the rogue he posed an act as, but not the good man she knew he was. After hearing his words, it also dawned on her that the mischievous trickster part of him was indeed an act after all. It was meant to cover up his true self.

With that realization, Elizabeth figured that the pirate before her was more vulnerable than he appeared to be. Betrayal and the harsh life among scoundrels had forced him to throw up a strong barrier and, with it, a new man. Knowing what she now knew, she had to wonder if his name was, in fact, his actual name or one he'd taken up.

*X*

Jack shifted uncomfortably under her thoughtful gaze. He wondered what she was thinking. He knew that part of his true self had shown and that her lack of an answer proved it. He desperately wanted and dreaded to know what she thought of him.

"Say somethin'?" He asked hopefully.

"I want to know the real Jack." Elizabeth told him after a moment.

He allowed a small smile to play on his lips. He let his English accent return to his voice for the first time in years. "And you will. Soon. But not now. There are more pressing matters at hand, don't you think?"

"Yes, I think so." She agreed, returning the smile.

She quickly unlocked the cell, quietly swinging the old iron doors open. She withdrew the pirate's effects from somewhere and returned them to him. He replaced them in their rightful positions on his person, drawing his sword.

A simple nod was exchanged between them.

It was time to retake the Pearl again.