Disclaimer: Only own the plot. And Jack Sparrow….ah hah! Tricked you, didn't I? Yeah, didn't think so…

A/N: You guys rock. No, seriously. Reviews are life…thanks so much for reviewing. I edited the first three chapters a bit…added a few more quirky "Jack Sparrow" lines for you…if you care to check them out and let me know if they're any better, I'd greatly appreciate it. BUT NOW, chapter four…

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Winds of Change

RUMbles and Knives

She hadn't been on a boat in so long…perhaps that was why she felt so ill. Sea sickness had never rendered her as useless as she was at this very moment: hanging over the railing of the HMS Sea Farer, she retched again, squeezing her eyes tightly shut, hoping to get the humiliation over with as quickly as possible. Elizabeth could sense Will standing behind her, nervously watching her for any dangerous swaying. She had already fainted once, and unfortunately no one had been there to break her fall. She had a nasty bump on the back of her head to show for it.

As she heaved one last time, she could hear Jack say, "Ohh, that was a hefty one." Completely embarrassed, knowing that Jack was thoroughly enjoying himself, Elizabeth sniffed, straightened to a very temporary stand and immediately swayed into the awaiting arms of her husband.

"Your bonnie lass doesn't seem to be holdin' out quite as we expected," Jack called again. Elizabeth turned her head to see him snickering quietly, standing at the helm, carefully steering the stolen ship.

"Shut up you dirty, good-for-nothing…"

"Pirate?" Jack offered, now looking at his peculiar compass. He snapped it shut and peered out at the horizon. "That's very unoriginal," he concluded in a mockingly hurt-tone. "If and when you decide to come up with a unique insult, I'd be obliged to hear it, Elizabeth."

"It's Mrs. Turner to you," Elizabeth growled as she fought her way out of Will's comforting grasp. Never had she felt so dependent on anyone before…it was driving her mad. Now standing without Will's help but still swaying dangerously, she glared at the newly found captain of the HMS Sea Farer, watching him drink from a flask at his side.

Jack noticed Elizabeth staring at his flask treacherously, and he hastily shoved it back in his pocket. "If you so much as come near this flask…"

Elizabeth took the cue and smiled evilly. "Now Jack," she asked innocently, "why would I ever do a thing like that?"

Pleased with her answer as well as the uneasy look on Jack's face, she turned to Will who eyed them curiously. "What was that about?" he asked Elizabeth.

She looked at him, happy for the excuse not to think about her nausea. "Didn't I ever tell you about how I signaled the Port Royal Navy to Jack and my destination when Barbossa left us stranded?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Well," she started with much enthusiasm, "you see, there was this storage of rum-"

"OK, thank you very much milady for your lovely story-time edicts," Jack interrupted loudly, trying to avoid her triumphant gaze. "But we have much left to do-"

"Oh, this will only take a second," she assured him, grinning wildly and turning back to Will who looked at her in complete amazement. "So, I figured, since the entire civilized navy was out looking for me, why not signal them by burning the r-"

"Mrs. Turner!" Elizabeth turned to look at him in response to his interruption that had been in a higher pitch than she had expected. "Can we please avoid this topic?" he asked uneasily, now suddenly fascinated with the rings on his left hand.

"You burned the rum?" Will asked, an incredulous look overcoming his features.

Elizabeth saw Jack flinch as if he were slapped upon the mention of his precious drink. "Yes, I burned the rum," she repeated loudly, seeing him flinch again.

"Wait, you burned all of the-"

"IF YOU WOULD BE SO KIND!" Jack shouted in an almost-whimper like fashion. Elizabeth smiled as she saw the hurt look on his face. He never would forget that…

"Oh, I'm sorry, Jack," she apologized in a stingingly sweet undertone. "Does it still bother you to talk about how I burned-"

"I'LL BE IN MY QUARTERS!" he bellowed, completely abandoning his post at the wheel and marching off to the captain's lodgings, slamming the doors dramatically behind him.

Victorious, Elizabeth now had time to realize that she was close to being sick again. Running towards the railing she heaved, coughing and sweating. As she breathed heavily, waiting for the next wave of nausea to strike, she noticed something floating in the water, lazily adrift in the swishing waves. She watched it wander nearer to the starboard side and noticed that it was a knife…ornately carved, unsheathed, looking fairly new…

…and fairly familiar.

I've seen that before, she told herself, rubbing her eyes to make sure it wasn't a hallucination brought on by her incessant sickness. But the knife was real, and it was floating ever closer.

"Oh my God," she whispered, her eyes growing wide in recognition. "Will!" She turned unsteadily and was about to fall when she found herself caught in her husband's arms. "Will…it's the knife!"

She looked up into his puzzled face. "What?"

"The knife! Barbossa's knife, the one he used for the blood ritual!" she insisted, pointing toward the water.

Unsure of her husband's reaction, she was reassured when he took her seriously. He led her to the railing and looked over himself, and Elizabeth saw him squint in apparent recognition. A few seconds later he drew back from the railing so abruptly that he almost knocked over Elizabeth as he whirled around, Then he still holding tightly to her. "Go tell Jack," he urged her, looking into her alarmed brown eyes. She tore herself away from his arms and walked as steadily (and quickly) as she could muster to the captain's residence. She noted, to her dismay, that the winds were picking up and the waves were tossing the boat ever more roughly than before. As if it was what she needed…

Grabbing onto the door handle for dear life, she swung them open to reveal Jack, sitting in an ornate chair, his head in his right hand and his compass lying open in his left. He heard her clumsy entrance and rolled his eyes. She opened her mouth without preamble, panic rising in her throat. But he spoke first.

"YES! THE RUM IS GONE! WHY IS THE RUM GONE? I KNOW WHY IT'S GONE! IT'S BECAUSE YOU BURNED IT!" he exploded, throwing his arms up into the air and standing, knocking over his chair. Shocked by his reaction and still shaken by the sight of the knife, all Elizabeth could do was stand there, feeling the pitch and roll of the ship beneath her. When Jack looked at her, his face immediately softened and a soft smile of embarrassment came to his lips. "You're not here to discuss the rum, then, I take it."

"The knife…" was all she could mutter. Between her ailment and her horror, Elizabeth was, for the first time in her life, at a loss for words.

Jack merely peered at her. "Ahh, lass, I think you'll be needing a pirate's nap."

Elizabeth shook her head and said, "Jack…Jack. Jack…" She kept trying to tell him, but all that would escape her lips was his name.

"Yes, that's what they call me. Actually, it's Cap-"

"The knife, Barbossa's knife, it's floating in the water off of the starboard bow," she croaked. Her insides were squirming and tightening themselves around her middle; she could feel the cold sensation of panic creep slowly up her esophagus and lodge itself in her throat. She prayed that Jack would take her seriously and that she wouldn't have to speak again to convince him of her sincerity. But the look of alarm that she had never seen before that suddenly appeared on Jack's face proved to her that he had no doubts about her honesty. He narrowed his eyes, and Elizabeth realized he wasn't looking at her, but to the door behind her. Slowly his eyes moved back towards her face and he studied her as if she had just said something short of a revelation, and suddenly she felt extremely weak…she was unexpectedly so tired…

She felt herself fall, but she could not react. She simply became limp, knowing she was fainting, but not having the strength to do anything to correct it. She braced herself, expecting the hard impact of the wooden deck…

…but it never came.

She felt herself being carried out onto the deck of the HMS Sea Farer in the arms of Jack Sparrow. Usually she would squirm, not wanting to be helped by someone with whom she was in a never-ending competition with, but she felt so ill, so frail…

"What happened?" came Will's cry.

"She fainted."

"Fainted? She's ill…"

"No." Jack's response was cautious if not…scared.

"What do you mean no? She has sea sickness! She said herself-"

"Mate, she didn't have it before when we was aboard the Pearl. She said herself that she never had it before. She figured it was because she hadn't been on a ship in two years…but that isn't it," he added thoughtfully.

"Then what is?" Will demanded. Elizabeth vaguely felt herself being placed from Jack's arms into her husband's. She tried to protest that she wasn't unconscious, that she could hear them…but her eyes refused to open and her lips refused to work.

So tired…

"They're close," he muttered, and she could feel her heart speed up in nervous anticipation.

"They?"

"Barbossa and company."

All that could be heard now was the wind whistling through the masts and the creaking of the swaying rigging. The waves were now crashing against the ship harder than before, and Elizabeth could feel the dank humidity start to form on her skin.

"Are you saying that Elizabeth gets unwell each time Barbossa is close?" Will asked in a stupor.

"Aye. That's exactly what I'm saying."

"But-"

"No time, no time," he interrupted, and Elizabeth felt herself being carried across the deck. "Put her on my bed. She needs rest, and we need to get our lonesome selves away from here." Elizabeth felt the comfortable softness of the mattress as Will carefully laid her down on the bed, covering her with a quilt and kissing her forehead lovingly.

"Will she be okay?" came the concerned question.

"Yes, yes, she'll be fine," Jack responded dismissively.

"But how-"

"No more bloody questions, please?" he begged.

"You owe me a lot of explanations, Jack," her husband growled as she heard footsteps retreating towards the door.

She was so tired…

"I owe a lot of people a lot of things but that doesn't mean I allotted a lot of those things to a lot of those people, savvy?"

A confused silence followed his words, and during those passing serene moments she felt a warm drowsiness creep over her, calming her thoughts and gently easing her tense muscles. She welcomed the sleep, but before the warmness engulfed her she heard Jack's voice once more.

"Will! Come here. While she's out cold …I need you to help me hide the rum."

~*~

Did you like? Yes? No? Please review! I thought this was a light-hearted chapter…and one that was fun to write as well.

Thanks, me hearties, for all of your reviews. They're greatly appreciated.